All the Small Things
by Chibi-Slacker
Summary: My first fanfiction. It's a Ranma/Sailor Moon crossover. Yes, yet another one. As for the synopsis how about:
1. All the Small Things Prologue

Hello and good evening. Please place the customary  
"first fic" warning here.  
  
Done? Good. Now place the usual disclaimer here.  
Done with that? Good. Now you have to listen to me  
ramble on for a while. This is the first revision   
of the Prologue, which I messed up on and labeled   
as Chapter 1 when I first posted. Get it? Got it?   
Good!  
  
Ready? Good! Let's do it!  
***************************************  
All The Small Things-Prologue  
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 fanfiction  
By: Slacker(r_heins@yahoo.com)  
***************************************  
Okinawa, 10 years ago  
  
"Ranma! Damn it, boy! Stop!"  
  
Okay, so maybe the Neko-ken wasn't such a good   
idea. Genma Saotome thought as he ran after   
his young son. But it sounded pretty good, and   
who really reads every page of a manual these days?  
  
Genma noticed he was losing ground on his son   
rapidly. Kami-sama! He's faster than I thought   
possible! And given the way he shredded the   
gate...and me... when he took off, he's learned the   
Neko-ken! The manual described the ability to shred   
damn near anything. Now all I have to do is teach   
him to use it without going insane first. He'll be   
unbeatable! But more importantly, once he starts to   
use it in matches, he'll be rich! Which means he   
can support me in my old age. Now, how do I train   
him to use the Neko-ken? Maybe some steaks and the   
tiger cage at the zoo?  
  
As Genma pondered on ways to further screw up   
his son, Ranma proceeded to vanish around the next   
corner. When Genma rounded the corner, his son was   
nowhere in sight.   
  
Uh-Oh. This could be bad. How will I explain   
losing my son to Nodoka?  
  
Just as Genma was about to continue on he heard   
what sounded like...purring? The purring sounded a   
bit...off, though.  
  
Could that be Ranma? I sure as hell hope it   
is. I seriously don't want Nodoka, and that damn   
katana, mad at me.  
  
When Genma followed the sound he came upon a   
most unusual sight: his son curled up in the lap of   
an old woman and purring loudly. He seemed to be   
sound asleep.  
  
"Oh, good! You found my son! I'll just take him   
and stop bothering you!" Genma said as he started   
to move forward.  
  
"You'll do no such thing." The old woman said   
calmly. Genma froze.  
  
"Pardon me?"  
  
"I said, 'You'll do no such thing'" She   
repeated in a very calm voice.  
  
"And why not?"  
  
"Because I recognize what has happened to him."  
  
"You do?" Genma said, somewhat nervously.  
  
"Oh, yes. The Neko-ken has been around for   
quite a long time. I know what it looks like and   
its effects. And right now the only people he will   
allow near him are people he likes or trusts. And   
you don't fall into either of those categories."  
  
"Woman! I am his father!"  
  
"You just threw him into a pit of  
*starving* *cats* wrapped in food! Most likely   
*several* *times*! I have seen the results of the   
Neko-ken many times! It leaves mental scars that   
*never* completely go away. In time, they will   
fade, but for now I will not allow you anywhere   
near him, for both of your sakes!"  
  
"Well, then! What do you suggest I do? Just   
leave him here?"  
  
"Actually, yes. You will leave him here at   
least three days. It will take me that long to calm  
him down and teach him some tricks to keep him from   
slipping into the Neko-ken so easily."  
  
"And if I don't?"   
  
"Your son will most likely go insane within 2,   
maybe 3 years. He'll slip irreversibly into the   
Neko-ken. Nothing and no one will be able to bring   
him out of it," she replied, still in that calm,   
even voice.   
  
"Now, you will leave. You will stay away for at   
least three days. And when you come back you won't   
attempt to do anything stupid involving the Neko-  
ken. I'd say anything stupid period, but if you're   
dumb enough to train your son in the Neko-ken,   
that's a vain hope."   
  
"'Anything stupid involving the Neko-ken'? What  
do you mean by that?" Genma asked.   
  
"Like wrapping him in steaks and throwing him   
in the tiger cage at the zoo." she said, staring   
him straight in the eye.   
  
Genma twitched. For some reason, he couldn't   
seem to look away from her eyes.   
  
"Now leave."   
  
Genma turned and left without another word.   
As Genma walked away, he tried to figure out   
why he gave in that easily to an old woman. Her   
eyes. It had to be her eyes. I've never seen eyes   
like that. Red to the point of crimson. They gave   
me the creeps. Brrr. And the look in them. They   
seemed to warn, "You won't like what happens if you   
cross me." He'd seen that look before, in a mother   
bear. I think it's probably a good thing I obeyed   
her. Yes, a very good thing.  
  
As soon as Genma was out of sight the "old   
woman" began to change. Her hair turned from gray   
into a deep green, her back straightened out, and   
her face smoothed out. The only thing that stayed   
the same were her eyes. Her red eyes. Eyes that had   
seen countless years. Eyes that had watched the   
fall of an entire culture and witnessed the   
sacrifice of a queen's life to give her daughter  
another chance. Eyes that said, "I have seen more   
pain and suffering than you ever can imagine. I've   
done things that would drive you insane, and come   
out unchanged. Do not cross me. You will not like   
what happens."   
  
The eyes of Sailor Pluto.   
  
She looked at Ranma and, after scanning him,   
murmured, "It is you. Why did she send you forward?   
And if you're here...then so is she. And I don't   
know where she is. This could be very...bad."   
  
As she picked him up and carried him into the  
house, only one thought went through her mind:   
  
Great, I've got two more people who are a bit   
unstable and have the power to destroy the planet,  
one of which I *can't* *find*! Perfect! Sometimes, I   
really hate my job.  
  
Three days later, Genma came back to pick up his   
son. Over the three days he was gone, he had camped   
out and tried to convince himself he had managed to   
trick the old woman into feeding his son for three   
days free. He had almost succeeded. (His ability to   
convince himself of things was second to none.)   
  
If he noticed anything different about his son, he   
didn't mention it to the "old woman," who he was   
still a little bit scared of, even after "tricking"   
her. (Which proved that maybe he wasn't a total   
idiot after all.)  
  
Watching as Ranma and his father walked away,   
Pluto thought to herself, I hope I never have to   
remove those blocks I put in, and I really hope   
they don't fail. That would be a _very_ bad thing.   
But from what I could read of his future, I almost   
feel sorry for Ranma. He's really a good kid. He   
doesn't deserve what his father will put him   
through, especially Jusenkyo. He deserves peace in   
this life, at least.  
  
"May good luck and the blessings of the Goddess   
go with you, Ranma," she whispered. You're going   
to need it.  
  
  
To be continued(like you hadn't guessed that!)  
***************************************  
Author's loud-mouthed piece:  
  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Hate me? Let me   
know! My e-mail is r_heins@yahoo.com C&C read,   
appreciated, and considered when writing. Flames   
will be used to heat my house. Death threats will   
be laughed at and deleted. Letter bombs will be kept   
for a rainy day to relieve the boredom.  
  
I always need pre-readers. If you want to   
volunteer for this task, tell me.   
  
As was already mentioned at the top of the   
fic, this is my first fanfic. As such it probably   
has huge holes. If you see one, _PLEASE_ tell me!   
Any and all C&C will be greatly appreciated!   
  
Author's loud-mouthed piece (Part II):   
  
Weeeelll, I got some prereaders, revised it,   
and decided to give it another shot. Hopefully, it   
has benefitted from the additional work. (I know it   
did. Some of the mistakes that were pointed out to   
me were real "Hey, what were you on when you wrote   
this?" type things. But I've got the aformentioned   
prereaders to slap me up side the head now.   
  
Speaking of which, they are, in no particular order   
(well, maybe alphabetical, I copied them straight   
from my address book):  
  
Aaron Blomenkamp, the Beast of Chaos  
Anchan  
Battlezone http://www.angelfire.com/bc/Battlezone  
CCMax  
E_Nebedum  
I'm apathetic  
Mr.P  
`tsuki-chan  
William Dix  
Xaldaran  
  
I love these people! Without them I would be   
nothing.  
  
  
Ja Ne!  
Slacker  
  
Revised 3/4/00  
  



	2. All the Small Things Chapter 1

Hello and good evening again. This is still my first   
fanfic so be gentle.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not yours. (Unless you're   
Takahashi or Takeuchi.) I have no money. Don't bother   
wasting yours trying to sue me, please.  
  
Ready? Good! Let's do it!  
***************************************  
All The Small Things-Chapter 1  
  
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 fanfiction  
  
By: Slacker(r_heins@yahoo.com)  
  
***************************************  
Juban, Present Day (unless noted, all events are   
present day)  
  
The meeting had gotten off to a bad start. They   
were meeting at Rei's temple, as normal, and Usagi   
had stolen one of her mangas as soon as she came   
through the door, again as usual. To complete the   
trend, Rei was insulting Usagi with the usual   
insults.   
  
The only thing unusual about the meeting so far,   
was the fact that the Outers had shown up, with the   
exception of Pluto (but she almost never showed up).   
Hotaru and Ami were exchanging news about their   
respective schools and Haruka and Michiru were, well,   
the best word would probably be "snuggling" on a   
pillow. The meetings had all followed the same   
pattern lately: meet, gab, make plans to meet and   
talk somewhere else, and be home before bedtime.   
(The Senshi's "extracurricular activities" had really   
slowed down after Galaxia.)  
  
"I don't know why we still bother with meeting   
every week. Setsuna said Galaxia would be the last   
major threat we faced before the Great Ice," Makoto   
commented.  
  
"Yes, but do you really want to give up the   
entertainment value of those two?" Minako asked,   
pointing at Rei and Usagi, who were now at the   
wrestling point of their ritual fight.  
  
"OK, you've got a point there. I wonder when   
they're going to admit to the fact that they like   
each other and all that's just an act?" Makoto   
wondered.  
  
"Probably never. I think they enjoy it too   
much."  
  
"Still, I think maybe we should cut the meetings   
down to once every two weeks. I could use the extra   
time for study." Three guesses as to who said that.  
  
"AMI!! You don't need more time to study!" came   
from every person in the room, including Rei and   
Usagi(who had called a temporary truce).  
  
"Well, Setsuna said we don't have any more big   
threats coming up, so why should we meet so often?"   
Ami asked.  
  
"That's easy to answer," came Setsuna's voice   
from the corner directly behind Usagi.  
  
"EEEK!Howlonghaveyoubeenthere?Youscaredme!Don'teverdo  
that!" Usagi shrieked.  
  
"Wow, she did that in one breath," Minako   
commented.  
  
Ami went to Setsuna's statement, instead of   
commenting on Usagi's lungpower, "'Easy to answer?'   
What do you mean?"  
  
"Remember how I said there wouldn't be any more   
major threats until the great ice?" Setsuna asked.  
  
"Why can't she ever just answer a question? Why   
is it always some mysterious, cryptic answer or   
another question?" Minako muttered loudly.  
  
Ami ignored Minako. She had gotten good at   
ignoring all distractions (which was a useful trick   
around this group), and answered Setsuna, "Yes, of   
course we do."  
  
Setsuna smiled that mysterious smile of hers as   
she sat down and calmly announced, "I lied."  
  
********************************  
  
Tendo dojo, about the same time.  
  
"Has anyone seen Ranma?" Kasumi asked. "Supper's   
almost ready,"   
  
"I think he's up on the roof." Nabiki replied.   
Again. Still.  
  
"Oh, my. He's been spending a lot of time up   
there after that...incident in China, hasn't he?"  
  
"Yeah, he has. I suppose you want me to go get   
him, right?" Incident? Akane nearly died, Ranma   
killed someone, (who by all accounts was supposed to   
be an un-killable 'god') and she calls it an   
"incident." She's amazing.  
  
"Yes, please do. I'll get Akane from the Dojo."  
  
Nabiki climbed to the roof by her usual means, a   
ladder. When she got up there, she found Ranma   
brooding in a pose that had become very familiar to   
her: sitting on the edge of the highest part of the   
roof with his knees drawn up to his chest and his   
arms wrapped around his legs as he gazed at the sky.  
  
Before she could say anything, Ranma spoke, "I   
know, supper's almost ready. I'll be down soon."  
  
Nabiki started to head back down the ladder, but   
paused at the top to say, "You know Ranma,   
whatever's bothering you won't go away if you just   
keep brooding on it. I'm open if you ever need to   
talk."  
  
"Careful, Nabiki, what about your reputation? If   
word of an offer like that gets around people might   
not buy the 'Ice Queen' legend anymore." He said   
with a small, insincere, smile.  
  
"Hey, you're practically family. I take care of   
my family. And besides, I can't make any money off of   
you if you're depressed all the time."  
  
"There's the Nabiki I've grown to fear and   
detest." Ranma said with an actual smile on his face.  
  
"Oooh, detest. Looks like someone learned a new   
word in school today." She quipped as she started   
down the ladder.   
  
"You'd better hurry. Supper will be ready soon   
and if your dad gets to it first, there won't be any   
left for you." She said as her head disappeared below   
the edge of the roof.  
  
"Oh, don't worry. Mom'll keep him off of it 'til   
I get plenty."  
  
"OK, but hurry. If I have to wait for you so I   
can begin eating, I'll triple your interest rates."   
Actually I've canceled all he owes me after the   
"wedding incident", but he doesn't need to know   
that.  
  
"Right. I'm coming." He said as he calmly fell   
off the top of the roof and twisted effortlessly to   
land on his feet on the lawn.  
  
"Show-off."  
  
"Hey, I'm the best, I don't need to show off."  
  
"And so modest, too."  
  
"Hey, I am. Now let's eat"  
  
Since Ranma was back to acting like his normal   
self, Nabiki completely forgot about her offer. Ranma   
didn't.  
  
***************************************  
  
Tendo dojo, next day, about 3 a.m.   
  
*tap, tap*  
  
What the heck is that? Nabiki groggily thought   
as something woke her up.  
  
*tap, tap, TAP*   
OK, what time is it? _3AM_! Someone is   
_DEAD_!  
  
Nabiki managed to raise her head to locate where   
the sound was coming from. It was coming from the   
window.  
  
3 am. The window. Gotta be Saotome. He's gonna   
pay.  
  
She slowly climbed out of bed and moved over to   
the window. As she opened it, she asked Ranma (who was   
hanging off the roof,)   
  
"Do you know what time it is? It's... "  
  
"3 am." Ranma interrupted, "I know. But I need to   
talk, and you're the only one I could think of. After   
all, you offered."  
  
"When I made the offer, I didn't think you were   
going to wake me up at 3 IN THE FREAKING MORNING!"   
She hissed, "I meant at a normal time."  
  
"I couldn't wait. I need your help. Do you   
always sleep in the nude?"  
  
"Yeah, usually, when it starts to get warm. What   
do you mean, 'I need your help'?"   
  
Now Nabiki wasn't the brightest of the morning   
people. In fact, if she had her way, the sun wouldn't   
rise until, oh, noon. But somewhere deep in her   
slowly waking brain something was saying,  
"Hey! Wait a minute! What'd he say?" In fact, if you   
were to map her thought processes they would go   
something like this: Help? Why would he ask me for   
help? Why me? I haven't proven myself to be the most   
trustworthy of souls. And why is he grinning like   
that? Did I miss something important? Let's see: woke   
up, went to window, Ranma asked for help,   
waitaminnit, _NUDE_?  
  
"EEP!"   
  
Nabiki was across the room and in her clothes   
before Ranma could even blink.  
  
"Man, if I could move that fast I'd be able to   
kick the old ghoul's butt before she even knew I was   
there." Ranma commented.  
  
"Why the hell didn't you tell me I was standing   
there butt-naked?!"  
  
"Ever hear of payback? Besides, didn't you think   
it was a bit drafty? I'd think it would be obvious.   
Just be glad I don't have a camera."  
  
"Oooh...you are going to get it. A camera. Feh."   
Wait a minute. Payback? Ranma doesn't get payback.   
He never gets payback. He's always been ridiculously   
quick to forgive and forget. Something isn't right.  
  
"Soo, what did you need to talk to me about?"  
  
"I need you to help me run away from home."  
  
****************************************  
Hikawa Shrine, right after Pluto's little bomb.  
  
There was absolute silence. Not just quiet, but   
complete, total silence. The kind of quiet you only   
get after someone announces the world is going to end   
in three seconds. The kind of quiet you'd get if Rei   
announced she changed her name to "Bambi" and was   
working in a strip joint. It was so quiet you could   
hear a faint "DARLING NO BAKA" and an electrical   
crackle in the background.  
  
Ami was the first one to break the silence.  
  
"Excuse me, but did you say 'I lied'?" Disbelief   
was quite prominent in her voice.  
  
"Oh, yes. Would you please pass one of the   
muffins?" was Setsuna's calm response.  
  
"'Please pass you one of the muffins'? 'Please   
pass one of the muffins'! What the heck do you mean   
'Please pass one of the muffins'!?" Makoto burst out.  
  
"I mean the muffins look good and I'd like to eat   
one. Is there a problem with that?" Setsuna asked   
with a "I'm so innocent, butter wouldn't melt in my   
mouth" look.   
  
"Yes!" Makoto quickly responded.  
  
"So, I can't have a muffin?"  
  
"No! I mean yes! I mean...That's not what I'm   
talking about!"  
  
"Then what are you talking about, if not the   
muffins?"  
  
"I think she means that part about you lying,"   
Haruka said with a fairly sarcastic tone of voice.  
  
"Oh! That! Yes, that would make sense, wouldn't   
it?" Setsuna said in an amused voice with a little   
smile.  
  
The same thought was going through everyone's   
mind at this point, except Usagi's. Her mind was   
still in synaptic shock. She's smiling. She just   
made a joke. She's showing emotions. Something is   
fundamentally wrong here. (OK, so maybe the only one   
to use "fundamentally" was Ami, but the sentiments   
were the same.)  
  
Ami was the first one to speak, (again) "Um,   
Setsuna, are you OK?" she asked a bit hesitantly.  
  
"Of course I am. Why?"  
  
"You made a joke, you smiled, and I _think_   
you're teasing Makoto. That is _not_ normal for you.   
Why are you acting like this?"  
  
"I told myself to loosen up. Literally."  
  
"You told yourself to loosen up?" Now Ami was a   
tad bit confused and the rest had lost it.  
  
"Yup, my future self told me to stop being   
so...'anal' is the word I believe she, I?, whatever,   
used...and have some fun."  
  
"So you were joking about lying. That's a   
relief."  
  
"No. I was serious about that."  
  
Silence met this little announcement, too. Not as   
deep as the prior one, but still pretty dang quiet.  
  
This time Rei broke the silence. "I don't suppose   
you'd care to share just what you mean, would you?"   
Her voice had a wee bit of fire in it. As in, you   
could roast marshmallows with it.  
  
"Let me have a muffin, first."  
  
After Setsuna had gotten her muffin (Blueberry,   
by the way. Makoto made them.), she began:  
  
"Let me tell you a story about a planet named   
Nemesis..."  
  
  
  
I'm going to end the chapter right there. Aren't I   
scum?  
  
To Be Continued(Big surprise, eh?)  
***************************************  
  
Author's loud-mouthed piece:  
  
  
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Hate me? Let me know!   
My e-mail is r_heins@yahoo.com C&C read,   
appreciated, and considered when writing. Flames will   
be used to heat my house. Death threats will be   
laughed at and deleted. Letter bombs will be kept for   
a rainy day to relieve the boredom.  
  
I always need pre-readers. If you want to   
volunteer for this task, tell me.  
  
As was already mentioned at the top of the fic,   
this is my first fanfic. As such it probably has huge   
holes. If you see one, _PLEASE_ tell me! Any and all   
C&C will be greatly appreciated!   
  
I _promise_ the next chapter will justify my use   
of the word "crossover." It's taken a little while   
for me to get to that point, I know. I originally   
intended to make this chapter into the meeting point,   
but this thing seems determined to write itself.  
What can ya do? (shrug)   
  
Ja Ne!  
Slacker  
  
PS. A fic I can't recommend enough is "Curse of   
Destiny" by Brian Drozd. It's one of the major   
reasons I'm writing Pluto the way I am. It makes you   
realize that Pluto does certain things because she HAS   
to, not necessarily because she WANTS to. You can find   
it @  
  
http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/HobbyCt/brian_drozd/   
chouko.htm   
  
In fact, I love all his work! Read `em and send   
him a line!  
  
PPS. A _HUGE_(!!!!!) "THANK YOU" goes out to my   
pre-readers. Without them, this fic would suck. A lot.   
I mean a WHOLE lot. I mean a whole, big, huge,   
massive amount of suckage would result. (I've got a   
thesaurus and I'm not afraid of using it! Can you   
tell?)  
  
They are (Drumroll, please, Paul):   
  
Aaron Blomenkamp, the Beast of Chaos  
Anchan  
Battlezone http://www.angelfire.com/bc/Battlezone  
CCMax  
E_Nebedum  
I'm apathetic  
Mr.P  
`tsuki-chan  
William Dix  
Xaldaran  
  
  
  
  
PPPS. What? You're still here? Go home! Hit the back   
button! Do something!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
PPPPS. Hey, buddy. The chapter is over. If you've read   
this far, you're obsessed or something. The secret   
phrase is "Don't forget to floss." Send me an e-mail   
with it in it and I'll put the number of people who   
did in one of the future chapters. Goodbye.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I was serious up there. This is the end of the   
chapter. SO STOP READING!!!!!  



	3. All the Small Things

Hello and good evening yet again. This   
is the second chapter (third if you count the   
prologue) and they still haven't met yet. But   
not to fear! They meet in this very chapter!   
Woo-Hoo!   
  
Before muddling through this and trying to   
figure out what I'm on, you might want to read   
the previous chapters. You can find them at:   
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker  
  
I don't really need to put in a   
disclaimer, do I? Everybody knows Ranma and   
Co. belong to the Goddess Takahashi and   
Sailor Moon and Co. belong to the Goddess   
Takeuchi. If I even tried to claim them   
as my own, hordes of totally insane otaku   
would lay some hurting down on me. (And I   
don't like pain.)  
  
Ready? Let's do it!  
***************************************  
All The Small Things-Chapter 2  
  
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 fanfiction  
  
By: Slacker(r_heins@yahoo.com)  
  
***************************************  
  
Previously on our program:  
  
While at a meeting, Setsuna revealed that   
she lied about whether they'd face another   
threat, and was about to reveal all when the   
chapter ended (this is known as a "hook").  
  
Meanwhile, at the Tendo Dojo, Ranma had   
woken Nabiki up at 3 a.m. to ask her help to   
"run away from home." (This is also known as   
a "hook".)  
  
Now on with our fic!  
  
***************************************  
Tendo Dojo, 3 am, Nabiki's room.  
  
Nabiki thought she was pretty much   
Unable to be shocked. She was wrong. The fact   
that she was sitting there staring at Ranma   
without saying a word kinda proved the point.  
  
"You need to 'run away from home'?" she   
asked, a bit incredulously.   
  
"Yeah, basically," Ranma replied in a   
nonchalant voice.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I got my reasons."  
  
"Such as?"  
  
"Such as they're my reasons, and I don't   
wanna share."  
  
Nabiki got a bit pissed at _that_   
response. So pissed she used what one of her   
associates termed "The Voice." It was so cold   
you had to check for icicles after she was   
done talking to you, and anyone who knew her   
was terrified of it. "Ranma, you woke me   
up at three in the morning, let me stand there   
butt-naked in the window, asked me to help   
you 'run away from home', and you won't tell   
me your reasons for it? I don't think so. No   
reasons, no help. Now get out and let me   
sleep."  
  
Ranma just sat there with an unusual look   
on his face.  
  
"What? Didn't hear me? Don't get what I'm   
saying? I said get out!"  
  
"What I say isn't to go beyond you, in   
any way, shape, or form. You will not tell   
anyone, you will not let anyone find out.   
Agreed? Otherwise I figure out a way to do it   
on my own. Take it or leave it." Ranma   
stated.  
  
Nabiki was going to try to bargain, until   
she looked into his eyes. He's serious.   
He'd really just get up and leave. He's   
thought this out. When the hell did he get   
that smart?  
  
"I agree." she said. And I hope I don't   
regret this.  
  
"I'm blacking out."  
  
Dead silence. Utterly and completely   
quiet.  
  
"Excuse me, did you say, `I'm blacking   
out'?" Disbelief wasn't an adequate word for   
what she was feeling.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"'I'm blacking out.' And for this you   
woke me up at 3 am? Get out. I need my   
sleep." Nabiki was feeling quite disgusted.  
  
"I'm serious. I'm blacking out at weird   
times. You remember last week? The finals?   
How I had to stay after the Science test?" His   
voice was earnest, almost pleading.  
  
"Yeah, I was running pools on just how   
badly you flunked it."  
  
"I aced it. Hell! I corrected the test in   
three places!"  
  
"You what?!"  
  
"Got the second highest score in Japan.   
The highest was some girl in Juban. They made   
me retake it, to make sure I didn't cheat."   
Some pride was evident in his voice about his   
scores and some anger about them thinking he   
had cheated.  
  
"You didn't?" Nabiki asked. There's no   
way he got that without cheating. Hell, he   
couldn't have done it WITH cheating. I   
couldn't have done it without cheating! And   
besides, he's always been too honorable to   
cheat. Well, in school anyways. His fights are a   
different story.  
  
"NO!" Ranma yelled.   
  
"Quiet! You want to wake everybody up?"  
  
"That won't happen. A bomb could go off   
and no one would wake up. Trust me." Ranma   
was still steamed about her question.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I added a few herbs to dinner." Ranma   
said with a shrug. "I doubt anybody but   
Kasumi even noticed them."  
  
"Then why aren't I asleep?"  
  
"I hit a few pressure points that would   
counter-act the effects."  
  
"Where did you learn how to do that?"  
  
"Dr. Tofu showed me some stuff before he   
went to study in Shinjuku. And Cologne has so   
many scrolls, she never notices when some are   
missing."  
  
"You stole scrolls from Cologne? That's   
nuts! She can kick your butt!" Hey, wait a   
second... "When did you learn to read Chinese?"  
  
"I didn't steal them, Shampoo gave them to   
me. I asked her nicely, and she was `too, too   
happy to help Airen.' As for the Chinese, I can   
learn very quickly when I'm motivated, you know   
that. And being chased across China by a   
homicidal Amazon is a great motivator. Besides,   
as long as Cologne doesn't find out, I'm fine."   
Ranma said as he crouched down by the window,   
which was still open.  
  
"Great. Why don't you shut that window?   
I'm getting cold."  
  
"Yeah, I noticed."  
  
"What do you mean `I noticed'?" Then she   
realized something: Cold air + silk pajama top -   
bra. She glanced down, "Eeeped!", and quickly   
crossed her arms over her chest. I really don't   
like the way he's acting. I can't second-guess   
him. Ranma got up and closed the window. Nabiki   
tried to get back to the subject.  
  
"So what about the test?" she asked.  
  
"I remember walking in, sitting down,   
picking up my pencil, getting the test, and   
handing it in. I don't remember actually   
taking it, and I don't know how I managed to   
do so well."  
  
"So you panic-blocked it." She said   
diffidently. "It's been known to happen. When   
someone panics too badly, their brain just   
goes `PFFFT'."  
  
"Yeah, right. I'm a martial artist. I   
don't `panic-block' anything. Besides, it   
happened again. In that fight with Ryoga the   
next day. Remember that?" He asked   
sarcastically.  
  
"Yeah, I got a lot from the betting   
pool. No one expected you to win in one hit.   
How'd you do that?" she asked, then said,   
"Oh. Another blackout." It wasn't a question.  
  
"Another blackout." He confirmed. "I   
remember Ryoga screaming his usual `Prepare   
to die, Saotome!' spiel, him running at me,   
and then standing over him with him out cold. I   
don't know what I did or how I did it." Ranma   
was looking, not scared, (Ranma would rather   
have open-heart surgery without anesthesia than   
admit he was scared) but worried. "I need to get   
out of here until I figure out what's going on."  
  
"So, why don't you just go on a   
'training trip' if you want to get away?" She   
asked.  
  
"Remember the last time? Everybody   
followed. It was worse than here. I didn't   
get anything out of it but a broken rib,   
courtesy of Ryoga. Besides, I need to get rid   
of my pop, too."  
  
"Why don't you just up and leave?"  
  
"Because if I did that, they'd try to   
find me and probably would. Especially if they   
got you to help."  
  
"So, let's talk about what we're going to   
do."  
  
"Does this mean you'll help?"  
  
"That depends on what you're willing to   
do for me. Some pictures, perhaps?" I need   
to do something to cover my costs. And this   
way I can adjust to the new attitude.  
  
"No nudity."  
  
He agreed? Just like that? I don't   
believe it. He REALLY wants my help.  
  
"Well, that cuts down on my selling   
price, but if you cooperate I can still make   
it worth my while. How soon do you want to   
leave?"  
  
"Yesterday." Ranma said with complete   
seriousness.  
  
"How about in two days?"  
  
Time to get working. I hope I'm not   
making a big mistake. But if I don't help him,   
he'll just do it on his own. He won't manage it,   
but he'll still try. This way, I'll be able to   
keep some kind of tag on him, just in case.  
  
"That'll do."  
  
***************************************  
Hikawa Shrine, earlier that day.  
  
Setsuna began her story. "Let me tell   
you a story about a planet named Nemesis..."  
  
She was, predictably, interrupted.   
Makoto did the interrupting this time.  
  
"Nemesis! You mean the Black Moon   
Family's Nemesis? The 'Hey, we don't like the   
way you're doing things, so we're going to   
blow you up.' Nemesis? THAT Nemesis?"  
  
"No, I mean Nemesis. As in the fifth   
planet in the Solar System. The Nemesis the   
Black Moon Family named themselves after. The   
Nemesis that is currently an asteroid belt.   
Now please be quiet. Thank you."  
  
"As I was saying, Nemesis was a harsh   
planet. It had frequent storms caused by it's   
massive overabundance of chaos magic. After   
several colonies, two regular Army legions, and   
one of the Lunar Guard legions all failed to   
survive more than two weeks on the surface,   
Queen Serenity declared all colonization   
efforts of Nemesis banned. She was not going   
to lose any more people to a planet that had   
no detectable resources.  
  
"It would have stayed that way except   
for one thing. One very BAD thing. A   
scientist, and chaos mage, named Arik became   
bored."  
  
"Wait, how could some scientist becoming   
bored be considered a "very bad thing?" Usagi   
interrupted, confused.  
  
"Arik was the primary designer of the   
Senshi's armor, powers, and weapons. The last   
time he got bored, he forged the Silence   
Glaive. The time before that, he altered   
Saturn's powers so she could take out a   
planet without breaking a sweat. She was   
already the most powerful of the Senshi, but he   
decided that wasn't good enough. The time before   
THAT, he stole the Ginzuisho, and used it to   
rip a hole in the Space/Time continuum and   
harness it, creating the Time Gate. All because   
he was bored! Does that answer your question?"   
Setsuna asked with a bit of heat in her voice.  
  
"Um, yeah." Usagi answered in a quiet   
voice.  
  
"Good, now don't interrupt me again, or   
I'll stop telling you this story.   
  
"Arik decided to see if he could tame   
Nemesis. You see, Arik was a rabid   
perfectionist, and having every planet but   
Nemesis with a Senshi was driving him mad.   
So he decided to fix the problem. He went to   
Serenity and told her he was going to go to   
Nemesis and see why none of the colonies had   
survived, and, more importantly, find out why   
there was no Senshi for Nemesis.   
  
Serenity forbade him to go, of course.   
  
Arik just laughed and asked if she really   
thought she could stop him.   
  
Two days later, he went to Nemesis. We know   
he landed safely, but all contact was lost less   
than 15 minutes after he landed. Due to the   
chaotic nature of Nemesis, all our scrying   
attempts failed. This was also the reason we   
were unable to discover what had happened to the   
previous colonies.  
  
After two weeks with no word, Arik was   
presumed dead. After two years, no one but his   
friends remembered him, and he didn't have   
many friends. After five years, no one   
remembered him. The only person who never   
forgot him was Serenity. She always felt she   
should have stopped him from going and blamed   
herself for his death. It was ten years   
before we found out what had happened to   
Arik.  
  
Almost one year to the day after   
Princess Serenity was born, a craft was   
detected leaving Nemesis. Since Nemesis was   
under interdiction, no one should have been   
on it to leave.   
  
The Navy naturally went to investigate. They   
found an older style ship on a direct course to   
the Moon. The ship was battered, bent, and   
bruised to the point that no registration was   
able to be made out. All attempts to hail it   
failed. The Navy shot the engines and boarded.   
  
They found a ship that shouldn't even been   
able to move in the atmosphere, much less   
planetary distances. It had almost no life   
support, heating, or electrical systems. The   
boarding party assumed it was remote piloted,   
since no human could survive in those   
conditions. They made their way to the bridge   
and got the shock of their life.   
  
A young child, no older than 8 or 9, was   
sitting in the captain's seat. They assumed the   
child was dead from the condition of the ship.   
  
The child must have somehow launched the   
ship and died when life support failed. As the   
leader went to cover the body, it looked up,   
smiled, and said `Ahh. There's the Ginzuisho. I   
can feel it now. Nice seeing you. Good-bye.' And   
then teleported. Directly to the Moon. Into   
the Palace. To five feet in front of   
Serenity's throne. Through over a hundred   
alarms, wards, and spells meant to keep   
ANYONE from teleporting ANYWHERE in the   
palace and didn't make any of them react.   
  
When the child arrived in front of Serenity,   
it bowed, dropped to a knee, and did   
something that I will always remember: `Your   
Majesty? I'm Sailor Nemesis. My life is   
yours. I am yours to command.'   
  
Apparently, Arik succeeded in his goal of   
making a Senshi."   
  
************************  
Tendo Dojo, one day after Nabiki and Ranma's   
little "talk."  
  
"Ok, Nabiki, I'm here. What did you want   
to talk to me about?" Ranma asked diffidently.  
  
"I just thought you might want to know   
where I'm going to send you after we get you   
out of here. Or would you prefer to just   
wander around and hope you find it?" Nabiki   
responded sarcastically   
  
"Um, Nabiki? I don't think we're   
running on the same wavelength here. I don't   
need you to help me to get out of here. I   
just need you to run cover for me."  
  
"Excuse me? `Run cover'?"  
  
"Yeah. I've already got plans set up to   
get me out of here. I've covered the   
everything. I just need you too make sure that   
they get bad information."  
  
"YOU'VE got plans? How the hell long   
have you been planning this?"  
  
His reply was brief and concise, "Since   
Saffron. I've had dreams and those damned   
blackouts since I killed him."  
  
"Oh." There really wasn't much she could   
add to that. "Are you sure you don't need any   
help?"  
  
"Positive."  
  
"Ok. If you're sure. Where are you   
going to go?"  
  
"I'm not going to tell you. What you   
don't know, you can't tell."  
  
"Damn it, Ranma! I told you I wouldn't   
tell anyone! Are you saying I lied?!"  
  
"No. You never lie. You may tell partial   
truths, you may distort the truth until it's   
unrecognizable, you may deliberately give   
people the wrong impression, but you never   
flat-out lie and you never break your word   
once it's given in true faith. I know that,   
and I trust you in that. The reason I'm not   
going to tell you is because Cologne knows   
pressure points that could make you babble   
out your entire life story. THAT'S why I'm   
not going to tell you."  
  
"Oh." Was the only comment she could   
make. How the hell did he nail me that well?   
I never thought he was that good of a judge   
of character. "So, how are you handling the   
paperwork and stuff?"  
  
"I called up some people who I did   
favors for. They're handling it." Then Ranma  
uttered the most frightening phrase ever   
invented, "Trust me. I know what I'm doing."  
  
************************  
Hikawa Shrine, still during Pluto's little   
talk (so the time flow ain't even. Call it   
artistic license. Or call it crappy   
writing, I don't care.)  
  
Once again, there was stunned silence.   
It was beginning to get repetitive. Pluto   
seemed to be enjoying it, though. This time,   
Usagi broke it, with her usual `just let it   
all come out at once' style.  
  
"Sailor Nemesis? So what did she look   
like? What was she like? What were her   
powers? Why didn't we hear about her before   
this?" That last was asked with a pointed   
glance at Luna.  
  
"Don't glare at me. You know my memory   
was Swiss-cheesed from being in suspended   
animation for several millennia." Luna   
responded indignantly.   
  
"It wasn't her fault. Nemesis tended to   
be hard to remember." Setsuna commented. At   
this everyone else broke out of their trances   
and began to assault Pluto with questions.  
  
"Where is Nemesis?"  
  
"What are her powers?"  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"Are there more Senshi besides Nemesis?"  
  
"What's her fashion sense like?"  
  
Everyone stopped to stare at Minako. She   
blinked.  
  
"What? It's a valid question!"  
  
Before anyone could ask any more   
questions, a beeping was heard. As everyone   
watched, Ami went pale and scrambled for her   
purse. She pulled out the Mercury Computer and   
began to frantically type on it. Her face   
turned even paler.  
  
"Ami? What's wrong?" Usagi asked,   
worriedly.  
  
"There's been eight dimensional   
disruptions in downtown Juban."  
  
"Which means, what? We've got enemies to   
fight?" Minako asked.  
  
"Precisely."  
  
"YES! ALRIGHT! Let's go kick some youma   
ass!" Makoto yelled as she jumped to her feet   
and pulled out her henshin stick. Everyone else   
just sat there and blinked, staring at her.  
  
"What? WHAT!? Why are you looking at me   
like that?"  
  
"Sometimes, Mako-chan, you freak me out   
worse than Minako." Haruka said in a flat tone.   
  
"Hey, wait a minute..." Minako began to   
protest, but was cut off when Haruka continued.  
  
"Now let's go take care the youma. I've got   
a race tomorrow, and I don't want to have to   
miss it."  
  
Eight nifty-keen light shows later, the   
Senshi were gone. Except for Setsuna, who just   
sat there. She finished her tea, looked at her   
watch, and smiled. "Right on time."  
  
*********************  
Downtown Juban, about three hours later.  
  
  
*ZZZAKKTTT* A bolt of tamed lightning   
slammed into something that looked like a six-  
foot cockroach, turning it into so much ash.  
  
"And another one bites the dust." Jupiter   
said, wiping sweat off her brow. "Any more?"  
  
"No, that's the last of them." Mercury   
answered after scanning with her Computer.  
  
"That's good. I'm tired."  
  
"We all are. Those things were faster than   
hell." Venus commented. "At least they weren't   
that tough."  
  
"Yeah, that's a good thing." Jupiter   
replied. "So, Mercury, any idea where those   
things were from?"  
  
"No. But I'm worried."  
  
That got everybody's attention.  
  
"What do you mean?" Jupiter asked.  
  
"Let's go back to the temple. I don't want   
to have to do this more than once."  
  
******************  
Hikawa Shrine.   
  
  
Everyone was sitting around the table   
staring at Ami, waiting for her to speak. She   
was going over some of the data in the   
Computer. She looked up and announced,  
  
"We've got problems."  
  
"Well, DUH! Of course we've got problems!   
We just had to kill eight giant cockroaches. I   
hate roaches! And I really hate bugs that are   
taller than I am!" Minako stated, sarcastically.  
  
Ami either missed the sarcasm or ignored   
it. (Every one who thinks she ignored it?   
That's what I thought.-Slacker) she just looked   
at Minako and said, "More than that. I ran the   
structure of those bugs through the database in   
the Computer and I came up with a composite   
result."  
  
Stares and blank looks met her statement.   
She sighed and explained, "Those bugs had   
almost all of the good points and almost none of   
the bad points of several of our old foes.   
Youma, daimon, cardian, etc. The only reason we   
won as easily as we did is because these were   
apparently prototypes. I was able to detect   
several obvious weak points in all of them. They   
were flawed. They're going to get tougher. As I   
said before, we've got problems."  
  
Haruka smiled and turned to Michiru. It   
wasn't a nice smile. She asked, "You know what   
this means, don't you?"  
  
"Yes, unfortunately." Michiru sighed.   
  
"What are you talking about?" Makoto asked.  
  
"We just need to make some plans if we've   
got some new enemies. That's all." Haruka   
replied.  
  
"Yes, we do." Rei said, "But first, Where   
the hell is Pluto!?" The last was asked in a   
fairly pissed-off tone of voice.  
  
At that point, everyone realized that Rei   
was right. Pluto was gone. It was quickly   
determined that no one had seen her since they   
took off to take care of the youma (or whatever   
the hell they were called THIS time).  
  
"Great! Just when a new enemy shows up, she   
disappears! Typical! When I find her I'm gonna   
take that staff of hers and..." What followed   
was anatomically impossible, and physically   
improbable. When Rei finally stopped swearing,   
she noticed that everyone was staring at her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"For a shrine maiden, you swear better than   
anyone I've ever met." Minako commented.  
  
"You swear better than my mechanics, and I   
didn't think THAT could be done." Haruka added.  
  
"So I'm angry that Setsuna disappeared   
right when we needed her. AGAIN! Doesn't anyone   
else feel a bit angry?" Rei asked.  
  
"Yeah, it is pretty damn annoying." Makoto   
agreed.  
  
"I have more things to do than sit around   
and give you help when you don't need it."   
Setsuna said, again from the corner behind   
Usagi. Surprisingly, Usagi didn't scream, jump,   
or even react to the words. (She was too tired.)   
She just stood there. She turned and said, "You   
know, that gets really annoying after a while."  
  
Setsuna just grinned in a fairly evil way.   
She turned to the rest of the Senshi and   
announced, "I'm going to get this out of the   
way right now. I can't tell you any more about   
Nemesis. Not WON'T, but CAN'T! I've been   
ordered by my future self not to. I don't   
disobey my own orders. Ever. All I can do is to   
warn you to be aware of Nemesis. I'm going to   
be busy at the Time Gate for a while, so don't   
bother looking for me. As for your enemies? I   
can see that they'll be following the same   
patterns they usually do, so say goodbye to   
sleeping all night. I'll tell you more when I   
can."  
  
Setsuna turned, opened a portal, and   
walked through. After the portal closed, she   
said, "This ought to be...interesting. Oh,   
well. Time to get to work."  
  
****************  
A train station in Nerima, two days after the   
Senshi's meeting.  
  
Nabiki stood and watched Ranma as he   
picked up his ticket for his train. Getting   
here was surprisingly easy. Ranma had insulted   
Akane's cooking and gotten a free trip to the   
station via "Akane Air." Nabiki was still   
wondering how he had managed to control where   
he landed so well. He had come down right in   
front of the ticket window.   
  
As Ranma walked over, her curiosity got the   
better of her and she asked, "Hey, Saotome.   
How'd you manage to get Akane to hit you right   
to the train station?"  
  
He turned, looked at her, and said, "I've   
got lot's of practice flying `Akane Air.' And   
the Saotome School of Anything Goes is an   
aerial style, after all."  
  
Nabiki nodded in understanding. "Oh, okay.   
I get it."   
  
"Sooooo, where'd you get a ticket for?" She   
asked, casually.  
  
"Tomob---" Ranma started to answer, then   
stopped suddenly as her question filtered   
through his brain. "Nice try." He said dryly.  
  
"Hey, I had to give it a shot." Nabiki said   
shrugging her shoulders. I'll just get it from   
the ticket man anyway. You may be acting smarter   
than I'm used to, but you're still Ranma. And   
that means you're too damn trusting.  
  
Ranma looked up as his train was   
announced.   
  
"You'll make sure to keep them off my back,   
right?" He asked, just to make sure.  
  
"Hey, with the amount I'll get for some of   
those pictures, I'll make sure the CIA wouldn't   
be able to find you." Nabiki said with a smirk.  
  
Ranma shuddered. The picture session was   
something he hoped to be able to soon forget.   
He hadn't had to do any nudity, but some of the   
swimsuits Nabiki made him wear had about enough   
fabric in them to cover just his navel, and most   
of that was the strings. And the lingerie? He   
didn't ever want to remember THAT. Of course,   
the fact that she made his pose in both forms   
had been an...unpleasant...surprise. If he   
hadn't needed her help so badly, he would have   
found where she kept her film and burnt it.  
  
Ranma was shaken from his musings when his   
train pulled in to the station. As he got on, he   
waved to Nabiki and moved to a seat. He stowed   
his single bag (which held almost everything he   
owned. Wandering for ten years studying the Art   
didn't give much chance for getting possessions)   
and sat down.  
  
Nabiki smiled to herself as the train   
pulled away from the station. She went over to   
the schedule board and began to read.   
  
Bingo! Tomobiki. Sigh. Sometimes it's so   
easy, I'm ashamed of myself. At least he picked   
a place where he'll fit in with the general   
craziness. He'd better watch out for Ataru,   
though. Lum won't like it if Ataru finds him in   
cursed form. Ouch. She went over to the ticket   
booth and confirmed that Ranma had bought   
tickets for Tomobiki.  
  
On the train, Ranma smiled to himself and   
pulled the ticket for Tomobiki out of his   
pocket. He looked at it, chuckled, and slowly   
tore it into pieces. "Gotcha, Nabiki." He   
whispered to himself.  
  
*************  
Juban Train Station, same day.  
  
The Inner Senshi waited on the platform   
after tagging along with Usagi to pick up her   
brother after a stay with relatives. Usagi was   
currently about to fall asleep against Makoto's   
shoulder. (She hadn't taken the "no sleep at   
night" thing very well) In the last two days,   
they had averaged two attacks a night, and   
everyone was running ragged.   
  
The youma were beginning to get tougher to   
kill, and Ami said they were beginning to move   
into the "production models," which meant that   
they would probably start to get tougher. The   
only good thing was that all the attacks were   
happening at night, so they didn't have to come   
up with excuses to miss school. "Teacher, may I   
be excused to save the world?" only works on   
The Powerpuff Girls, after all.   
  
Usagi's nap was interrupted by the squeal   
of the train's brakes. The girls started to   
scan the crowds of people getting off in hope   
of seeing their target. When they finally saw   
him they rushed over to him. They were about to   
leave when they heard a roar.   
  
Typical. Was the only thought that the   
Senshi had time for before the youma attacked.  
  
**********************  
Juban Train Station.  
  
Ranma got off the train just in time to hear   
a roar. He stopped, turned to where the roar   
emanated from, and sighed.   
  
A large, black, spike-covered monster was   
the source of the noise. Great. Why can't I   
ever have a normal day?   
  
Of course, he was in Juban because it had   
almost as high of a weirdness rating as Nerima   
or Tomobiki. Not as high, but close. He'd fit   
right in. Can't fight it like this, people   
might recognize me later.   
  
He started to look for a place to change. He   
heard someone shout, "LOOK OUT!!"   
  
He had just enough time to notice a ball of   
energy before it slammed him through a wall and   
into unconsciousness.   
  
The Senshi had no time to check up on the   
man who was just hit. They were barely able to   
hold their own. The youma didn't seem to be hurt   
by anything they threw at it, and they were   
running out of steam. Most of their fights   
tended to be over within 5 minutes, and this one   
was at 6 times that. They simply didn't have the   
stamina they needed. They were having to fall   
back on their weaker attacks. Finally, one of   
them made the inevitable mistake. Venus'   
Crescent Beam hit the youma at an angle and   
glanced off towards Mars, who jumped towards   
Mercury to get out of the way.   
  
The youma acted on the opening with   
startling speed. It grabbed Jupiter, threw her   
into Mercury and Mars, backhanded Venus into a   
wall, and was on Sailor Moon like a cheap suit.   
It shoulder-slammed her into another wall.   
  
  
As Sailor Moon lay there, stunned and barely   
conscious, it walked over and raised it's clawed   
hand to strike. The rest of the Senshi were   
barely fighting off the blackness as well. They   
could only watch.   
  
At the Gate of Time, Pluto whispered, "It is   
time." Then she smiled. Good. I've been waiting   
long enough.   
  
Back in the train station, Sailor Moon was   
waiting for the youma to strike. She closed her   
eyes as the claws began to come down. Then she   
felt a hand on her ankle. A hand that pulled her   
out away from the wall the youma had knocked her   
into, and threw her into a fountain.   
  
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" *SPLASH* "PTOOUIE!"   
  
She sat in the fountain trying to figure out   
what had just happened. She glanced over to the   
other Inner Senshi to see if one of them had   
been the one to throw her.   
  
They weren't even looking in her direction.   
They were staring at someone over by the youma.   
(Venus and Jupiter had hearts in their eyes.)   
She turned to where they were staring and saw a   
man dressed all in black. Black shirt, pants,   
boots, and a black symbol on his forehead. From   
where she was, she couldn't get a good look at   
the symbol, but she could tell it had a black   
crescent moon in it. Crap. Is the Black Moon   
Family back?   
  
  
The man turned and looked at the youma. It   
prepared to spring at him, and he began to   
laugh. Not just a little chuckle, either. A   
full-blown, tears in the eyes laugh. This seemed   
to annoy the youma, and it sprang at him. The   
stranger seemed to blur, and the youma went   
flying into a wall away from the Senshi.   
  
As the youma began to get up, the stranger   
held out his hand, palm up. Black energy began   
to gather in his palm. When he had a ball about   
the size of a softball, he tossed it at the   
youma with a casual snap of his wrist. It caught   
the youma in mid-leap. Black lightning raced   
over the youma's skin. The youma hit the floor   
and seemed to just...evaporate. All of this   
happened in complete silence. No focusing mantra   
for the attack from the stranger and no scream   
of pain from the youma.   
  
He snorted, and walked over to the fountain   
that Sailor Moon was sitting in. He held out a   
hand to her, and she reached for it. She   
couldn't seem to look away from his eyes. They   
were the deepest blue she had ever seen.   
  
She could faintly hear him saying, "You must   
be Sailor Moon. It is good to meet you. I am..."   
  
  
Whatever he was about to say was cut off by   
Uranus deciding to introduce herself.   
  
"World Shaking!"   
  
He looked up just in time to catch the   
blast straight in the chest. He flew backwards   
through a shop wall. Neptune ran over to Moon to   
see if she was all right, while Uranus and   
Saturn made sure the `enemy' was finished. When   
Neptune got to the fountain, she was unprepared   
for Moon's reaction.   
  
"What did you do that for? You might have   
killed him!" Moon demanded indignantly.   
  
"He was threatening you." She replied calmly.   
  
"No, he wasn't. He was helping me out of the   
fountain. He's on our side. Or at least he was   
before you guys blew him through a wall!"   
  
Of course, the Outers had no idea of what   
had happened after the Inners got Usagi's   
brother out of the line of fire, transformed,   
and hit the emergency button on the   
communicator. All they knew was that someone had   
attacked the Princess. They got to the station   
just in time to see most of the Inners   
scattered, and some guy dressed all in black   
leaning over the Princess.   
  
They reacted as the situation warranted:   
Take out the threat.   
  
Meanwhile, by the hole in the wall made by a   
flying body, Saturn and Uranus were getting   
ready to make sure the target was so much dead   
meat. Uranus pulled out the Space Sword and   
Saturn got out the Silence Glaive. (Better safe   
than sorry, after all.)   
  
Uranus stepped through the hole with the   
Space Sword held in a ready position. Saturn was   
about to follow when she heard a shout and   
Uranus came flying back out of the hole, minus   
her sword. Uranus slammed into the wall across   
from the hole and just barely managed to get to   
her feet.   
  
As she stood there, a blur flew out of the   
hole and imbedded itself about a quarter-inch   
from her right ear. It was the Space Sword.   
Saturn turned back to the hole just in time to   
see the stranger climb out.   
  
"You know, that wasn't very nice." He said   
in a rather pleasant tone. He looked around,   
noticed the new additions and the fact that the   
Inners were looking ready to finish what the   
Outers had started, and reached a decision.   
Time to go.   
  
"Well, it's been fun, but I have to say   
`Good-bye.' See ya." He calmly announced, and   
disappeared into the shadows.   
  
The Senshi heard sirens beginning to come   
closer to their location and decided that   
leaving would be a good idea. Uranus reached up   
to pull out her weapon and had an unpleasant   
surprise. She couldn't move it. She pulled   
harder. No luck. She braced herself against the   
wall and pulled. Still wouldn't move.   
  
Mercury noticed her efforts and came over.   
"What's wrong?" She asked.   
  
"I can't get my sword out of this stupid   
wall!" Uranus muttered between gritted teeth.   
  
"Let me scan it." Mercury worked on her   
computer for a few seconds. Her eyes widened.   
  
"Well, why can't I get it out?" Uranus   
demanded.   
  
Mercury's voice was hesitant as she   
answered, "Because it is stuck through a main   
support beam."   
  
That made Uranus do a double take. "What?"   
  
"Your sword is stuck in one of the main   
support beams for this part of the station. It   
was thrown with enough force to drive it in to   
the hilt. You're going to have to pull HARD to   
get it out."   
  
Rather than answer, Uranus just grabbed the   
hilt of the Space Sword and pulled. She put one   
foot on the wall, then the other. The other   
Senshi all stopped what they were doing to watch   
as Uranus obtained a 90 degree angle to the   
wall. Her face was turning a lovely shade of   
purple when she finally managed to get the sword   
out.   
  
"Yes! Oh, shit!" Unfortunately, she forgot   
she was on the wall, and hit the ground on her   
head. As she got up, she growled, "Not one word.   
NOT...A...SINGLE...ONE!"   
  
Seeing the look in her eyes, no one wanted   
to risk it. They rapidly made plans to meet at   
Rei's temple that night, and scattered. The   
Inners went to get Usagi's brother and the   
Outers went to patrol the city to see if they   
could find that guy in black.   
  
The guy in black was gone. They couldn't  
find him.   
  
Meanwhile, Ranma woke up in the train   
station's bathroom. Water was flowing from a   
broken faucet and had soaked him (now a her),   
waking her up.   
  
"Oh, man." She groaned, "What hit me?" Then   
she remembered. The youma. An energy blast. Some   
one screaming a warning. Hold on. The girl who   
screamed the warning. She was dressed in a blue   
fuku, along with four others.   
  
"The Sailor Senshi? I'll be. I thought they   
were just an urban legend." She got up, and   
groaned as an assortment of aches and pains made   
themselves known. Man, this shirt is shot.   
  
As she made her way through the ruin that   
used to be a waiting platform, she could hear   
police and ambulances arriving. Man, I'm sorry   
I missed this fight. It looks like it was a good   
one. Maybe I can catch the next one. Wouldn't   
want to get out of shape.   
  
Since she didn't want to have to explain why   
she was standing in a former battle zone with   
shredded clothes (especially since he was in his   
cursed form), Ranma quickly made her way out of   
the station without being seen. Heh, Umisen-ken   
strikes again. That technique comes in handy.   
Still was a royal pain to learn, though.   
  
Once she was outside, Ranma took to the   
rooftops and quickly made his way to her   
destination: a fairly nice house on the   
outskirts of Juban. She jumped down and went in   
the gate. She went up to the door and checked   
it. Locked. Let's see...   
  
She reached around and pulled a letter from   
her pack. Says here if it's locked, I should   
use the key hidden in the flowerpot. Huh. Not a   
very original place.   
  
Ranma opened the door and went in. Letter   
says first door on the right up the stairs is   
mine.   
  
She went up the stairs, went into the room,   
and looked around. Not bad. Pretty nice, as a   
matter of fact. This should be a nice place to   
stay, if I can pull my plan off.   
  
Ranma changed shirts (and sexes) and put   
away the rest of his gear. Then he decided to   
explore the rest of the house. That took him all   
of ten minutes. One room had several lamps in   
it, and looked like it belonged to a young girl.   
Another had several musical instruments on the   
wall, was tastefully decorated, and spotlessly   
clean. A third had a huge amount of racing   
trophies in a case. The last one looked like no   
one had been there in a good long while. The   
downstairs had a kitchen, dining room, living   
room, and a large, empty room with mirrors and   
railings along one wall. The basement had the   
usual basementy stuff in it, and he couldn't   
find an attic access. Well, that was fun. Now   
what do I do? I have to talk to the person who   
sent me the letter before I know what to do   
around here.   
  
Ranma was about to sit on the living room   
floor and start meditating when his stomach   
announced that it wanted some attention. Bingo.   
I'll make some food.   
  
He went into the kitchen and started to make   
something to eat. It was almost done when   
someone pulled into the garage. Oh, good.   
Someone's home. I hope it's the person I need to   
talk to.   
  
Ranma stepped away from the stove and   
started to wipe off his hands when he remembered   
something important. Crap! I'm male!   
  
He dashed over to the sink and splashed   
himself with cold water just as the door opened.   
She turned to look at the people. There was a   
blonde (dressed in guys clothes), a girl with   
green hair (dressed in some rather tasteful   
clothes), and a young girl with black hair   
(dressed in a skirt and turtleneck). They just   
stared at each other for a while. Then the blond   
jumped at Ranma.   
  
******************   
  
Haruka opened the door to the house and   
smelled someone cooking. Setsuna. Good. I can   
ask her some of the questions that came up   
during the meeting.   
  
It wasn't Setsuna. It was a short, blue-eyed   
redhead wearing black pants and a red Chinese   
style shirt (which, although baggy, did nothing   
to hide her `assets').   
  
Haruka had one simple thought: Burglar. Get   
her. She jumped at the stranger.   
  
To be Continued. (Big surprise there, huh?)   
*************************   
Author's piece:   
  
Well, here it is. I seem to be developing a   
habit of ending chapters with a cliffhanger,   
don't I?   
  
What happened in the meeting? Why is Ranma   
in Setsuna's house? What's in nougat? How long   
will it be until Strike Fiss writes his next   
series? Will I ever shut up?   
  
The answers to some of these questions will   
be in the next chapter! (I'm not telling which   
ones, though.)   
  
Big thanks to all my pre-readers! You know I   
love `em!   
Aaron Blomenkamp, The Beast of Chaos   
Anchan   
Battlezone  
(http://www.angelfire.com/bc/Battlezone)   
CCMax   
E_Nebedum   
I'm Apathetic   
Lord Anthrax   
Mr.P (http://www.geocities.com/p_chan05)   
`tsuki-chan   
William Dix   
Xaldaran   
  
The most recent revisions of all the   
chapters can be found on my homepage at   
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker   
  
Send me C&C! I love it! Send me flames! I   
need something to keep me warm during the cold   
winter months! Send me death threats! I need new   
ideas! Send me letter bombs! I need something to   
break the monotony!   
  
My email: r_heins@yahoo.com   
  
Ja Ne!   
Slacker   
4/3/00   
  



	4. All the Small Things

Well, here it is. Chapter 3. Aren't we all   
happy? (Well, except for a few of you. You know   
who you are.)   
  
You might want to read the prior chapters   
before getting into this one. You can find them   
at my homepage:   
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker   
  
or Tannim's page:   
http://home.earthlink.net/~tannim/index.html  
  
Without further ado, (since ado costs too   
much to waste these days) let's start the fic,   
eh?   
  
*****************   
  
"All The Small Things-Chapter 3"   
  
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 fanfic (Yes, yet another   
one.)   
  
By: Slacker (r_heins@yahoo.com)   
  
*****************   
  
What's happened thus far:   
  
Ranma has enlisted Nabiki's help to "run   
away from home" in order to get some time to   
sort things out. Nabiki agreed to help in order   
to maintain some kind of control over him. Ranma   
actually did something resembling planning and   
had most everything worked out. (Gasp!)   
  
In Juban, Setsuna has freaked out the Senshi   
by: Smiling, Making jokes, and Informing them   
that she was lying about Galaxia being the last   
threat they would have to face before the Great   
Ice. The Senshi were understandably unhappy   
about that last one.  
  
Meanwhile, Ranma made his way to the house   
in Juban where he would be staying. He's decided   
that his cursed form would be the best way to   
go.   
  
He (currently she) gets to his destination   
and is cooking dinner when some of the other   
residents of the house get home: Haruka Ten'ou,   
Michiru Kaiou, and Hotaru Tomoe. Haruka, having   
had a VERY bad day, jumps to the conclusion that   
Ranma is a burglar and jumps her.   
  
And that's where our fic resumes.   
*****************   
(Unless noted, all events are now taking   
place in Juban) Setsuna's house, evening.   
  
  
Haruka was NOT having a good day. First,   
Setsuna had been gone for two days, so she   
couldn't get any information on the enemy   
from her. Second, some guy dressed in black   
had basically handed her head to her earlier.   
Third, she gets chewed out by Usagi, of all the   
people, for attacking him. Fourth, when she got   
home, there was a burglar in the house.   
  
After her day, she wasn't in any mood to   
try to talk to the burglar, so she just jumped   
at her with havoc on her mind. And found herself   
flying through the doorway into the front room.   
She landed on the couch. She got up slowly and   
carefully moved towards the girl. She sized up   
her opponent.   
  
Shorter than herself, slight build, red   
hair, blue eyes, rather...healthy build, Chinese   
style red shirt, black pants, and black   
slippers. Obviously knew some martial arts.   
Faster than heck.   
  
Haruka figured out her plan. I'll get   
in close and overpower her. There is NO way   
she's stronger than I am. Not with that   
build. Hotaru and Michiru hadn't even moved   
yet.   
  
Haruka started to rush back into the   
kitchen. She was just about up to full sprint   
speed when a hand grabbed her shirtsleeve. So   
she's got friends, huh? Haruka shifted her   
momentum and put everything she could into a   
punch.   
  
Which was caught. Effortlessly. Haruka looked   
at the hand and then up at the person who caught   
it. Crimson eyes looked back. One green eyebrow   
elevated slightly. Haruka recognized her   
instantly. "Setsuna. Where have you been?"   
  
In reply, Setsuna did her usual "I know   
something you don't" smile and said "I'd prefer   
it if you didn't attack our new houseguest. I   
don't wish to have to make a trip to the   
hospital."   
  
"Oh, come on, Setsuna. You know I wouldn't   
actually hurt her." Haruka protested.   
  
"I wasn't worried about her." Setsuna   
replied as she let go of Haruka's fist and waved   
at Ranma. "I just stopped in to say hi and to   
tell you not to try to kill our new houseguest.   
Her name is Ranko Satori. She will be staying   
with us for the foreseeable future. Now I have   
to go and take care of some pressing business.   
I'll be back later." With that, Setsuna turned   
and walked to the front door. As she was opening   
it, Haruka called out to her.   
  
"Hey! How long is this `pressing business'   
going to take? We've got some questions   
about..." Haruka suddenly remembered their new   
`houseguest' "...stuff."   
  
Setsuna just smiled again. "As much time as   
I need. Remember who I am, after all. I'll see   
you tonight. Be nice to Ranko." Then she walked   
out of the house, still smiling. Oh, I'm a bad   
girl. I almost hope she does pick a fight with   
her. It'd be worth it for the amusement factor   
alone.   
  
Haruka's left eye twitched. One day she's   
going to give me that smile and then I'm going   
to go after her. And then...she'll clean   
the floor with me. Haruka had to admit with   
complete honesty.   
  
Ranko stood in the kitchen waiting to see   
if the chick in guy's clothing was going to   
attack again. She didn't know who she was, or   
the two other girls with her, but she   
recognized the voice of the woman with green   
hair. She had to talk to her a lot to get   
transferred out of Furinkan, especially due to   
some of the...unusual procedures she had to use   
to cover herself. That must be Setsuna Meiou.   
She looks to be a pretty good martial artist,   
given how she stopped that punch. Don't   
recognize the style, though. Might have to see   
if she wants to spar later. Have to keep in   
practice, after all.   
  
Ranko nearly jumped out of her skin when a   
hand tugged on her sleeve. She whipped around   
and sank into a ready stance. She saw the short   
girl in the turtleneck standing there. She   
seemed shocked at Ranko's speed. Geez, Cologne,   
Tofu, Kasumi, now a little girl. Seems like   
anybody can sneak up on me these days.   
  
Hotaru WAS in shock. She had NEVER seen a   
human move that fast! Ranko, at least that was   
she thought Setsuna-mama had said her name was,   
moved almost as fast as she did as Saturn! She   
gave herself a mental shake and decided to do   
what she originally came over to do: introduce   
herself.   
  
"Hi! I'm Hotaru!" Hotaru announced   
cheerfully.  
  
"Um, hi. I'm Ran...ko." Ranma replied.   
  
Hotaru missed the way Ranma stumbled over   
her name and continued her introductions.   
"That's Michiru-mama, that's Haruka-papa, and   
the lady who just left was Setsuna-mama." Hotaru   
pointed to the appropriate people as she made   
the introductions.   
  
Haruka-papa? Don't ask. I have enough   
weirdness as it is. "Nice to meet ya. You guys   
boarding with Meiou-san, too?"   
  
"Yes. What are you cooking?"   
  
"An omelet. I learned how to make `em when I   
was traveling with my pop. Want some?"   
  
"Yes, please. Could Michiru-mama and Haruka-   
papa have some, too?"   
  
"Umm, sure. I'll whip up some more. I think   
there's enough for everybody."   
  
Haruka walked over to Ranko. 'Be nice' she   
says. Fine. I'll be nice. "Hi. I'm Haruka. Nice   
to meet you. Sorry about jumping you, but I've   
had a really bad day."   
  
"No problem. I've had days like that, too."   
Mostly in the last year. "You're pretty good.   
Spar much?"   
  
"Not much, actually." Of course, this was   
true. Most of her fighting was with various   
people who were trying to take over the planet   
(which didn't count as sparring, obviously).   
  
"Oh. Wanna spar sometime? I need a partner   
or my skills will get rusty."   
  
"Sure, why not? Just tell me when you want   
to start." And with that, Haruka started a chain   
of events that would eventually drive her   
insane, making her kill all of the other Senshi   
in incredible bloody ways, ensuring that Crystal   
Tokyo would never be formed and Chibi-Usa would   
never be born. (See? Every cloud has a silver   
lining.) No, wait, that's a plotline for a non-   
existent darkfic. In THIS fic, it just causes   
her a lot of headaches and lost sleep.   
  
"All right. Let's start tomorrow." And thus   
it began.   
  
****************************   
After dinner.   
  
Ranko had decided to go to bed early,   
commenting that she almost never had a full   
night's sleep in the last year. Hotaru quickly   
followed. Haruka and Michiru waited up for   
Setsuna. Haruka was thinking about the way Ranko   
had managed to avoid answering any questions   
about her past and wondering why Setsuna had   
agreed to let her stay with them. Michiru was   
thinking about how warm Haruka was. She also   
noted that Haruka was tense. Let's see what I   
can do to fix that, hmmm?   
  
"Whaa? Michiru? What are you doing? Oh, hey.   
Stop. Giggle. Stop that! HaHa. You know I'm   
ticklish there! HEY! HEEHEEHAHAHA-MMPPHH!" (Yes,   
`MMPPHH'. Michiru decided that they were making   
too much noise and decided to drop the noise   
level in the most...enjoyable way.) It was just   
about to hit the level of `fan service' when...   
  
"Am I interrupting something important?"   
Setsuna drawled in an amused tone.   
  
The Outer Senshi quickly jumped up and re-   
assembled their clothes. Both of them were about   
to combust from their blushes.   
  
Haruka cleared her throat, opened her mouth,   
closed her mouth, cleared her throat again,   
opened her mouth, and asked "How long were you   
standing there?"   
  
"Long enough to discover how adept Michiru   
is at removing a bra. Now, you said you wanted   
to ask me something. What is it? And fast, if   
you don't mind. I've been looking forward to   
sleeping all month."   
  
"We had a meeting earlier today. Some   
questions came up..."   
  
**************************   
(Yes! It's flashback time! Insert wavy lines...   
HERE!) Hikawa Shrine, afternoon.   
  
  
The room was silent.   
  
"Usagi! Give me back my manga! I haven't   
read that one yet!"   
  
Well, fairly silent. Everyone except Usagi   
and the Outers were totally bushed from the   
fight earlier. Usagi, because she never seemed   
to get tired when Rei's manga were around, and   
the Outers because they missed most of the   
fighting.   
  
Finally, Rei gave up on the manga and   
decided to get the meeting into gear.   
  
"So, Ami, what kind of readings did you get   
from the youma? Or from our little helper, for   
that matter?"   
  
Ami opened up the Mercury Computer and   
proceeded to bring up the data she had recorded   
from the fight.   
  
"Well, to put it as simple as possible, the   
youma (for lack of a better term) was the same   
as the ones we've been facing lately. That is to   
say, a combination of the best of all of our   
older foes and none of their weak points. Our   
usual tactic of throwing energy at the enemy   
until it just can't handle it anymore didn't   
work, because this one was extremely resistant   
to magic."   
  
"So, how'd you guys manage to defeat it?"   
Haruka asked, curious.   
  
"We didn't." Usagi replied. "The guy you hit   
in the chest with a `World Shaking' did. You   
know, the one that saved my life? The one that   
was helping me up and was about to introduce   
himself before you tried to kill him? That guy!?   
Does that ring any bells? Hmmm? Well? Are you   
going to say something? Anything?"   
  
Usagi was rising out of her seat as she   
spoke and was standing over top of Haruka by the   
end. She had been getting more formal and cold   
in her speech patterns, as well. By the end of   
her speech, the temperature in the room had   
dropped several degrees.  
  
Everyone else began to slowly back away from   
Usagi and Haruka.   
  
"Woah, Princess. I didn't know that he saved   
you, remember? I just showed up and saw some guy   
dressed all in black leaning over you. So I hit   
him. How many good guys do you see dressed all   
in black, after all? I acted on the knowledge I   
had at the time, all right?" Geez, what's with   
the attitude? I've never seen her like this.   
Hell, Michiru and I killed off her friends and   
she didn't act like this. "Uh, why are you   
so...um, upset about me attacking him, any ways?   
It's not like he was a friend of yours, after   
all."   
  
Usagi looked kind of confused. "I am not   
sure. It is almost like I knew him from   
somewhere. His eyes seemed...familiar, somehow.   
I do not know how to explain it any better than   
that."   
  
Usagi fell silent and appeared to be   
pondering something. Ami decided that now would   
be a good time to speak up.   
  
"I managed to get some readings on him."   
  
Instantly she was the center of attention.   
  
Ami began to tell what she knew. "The   
Mercury Computer picked up huge amounts of   
negative energy from him. Because of that, it   
couldn't scan him very well. What I could get   
was that he has several different energy   
signatures overlapping each other. The   
Computer couldn't even begin to give me a good   
read-out on them. It gave me an `Insufficient   
Data' message and a `Conflicting Data' message.   
The bad news is that I can't track him, or even   
find him. The good news is that if he gets close   
enough I can recognize his energy signature."   
  
"Negative energy? Isn't that what Beryl and   
the Generals used?" Rei asked.   
  
"Yes. But this seems to be different. It has   
a slightly different pattern from any of the   
Dark Kingdom's. It fluctuated a lot. I have no   
definite idea what he would be capable of, but   
it is probably quite impressive."   
  
"Impressive? How `impressive'?" Makoto asked.   
  
"I think he could take out Tokyo and still   
have time for a mid-morning snack." Ami said   
with utter seriousness.   
  
That made everyone just sit there in silence   
for a while.   
  
"Crap. That sucks." Haruka summed up for   
everyone. "Why can't we ever face someone that's   
an extreme wimp? Just for variety? No! It's   
always some big, nasty, I-can-kill-everyone-in-   
Tokyo-and-still-have-time-for-lunch enemy!"   
Haruka just sat there panting for a few minutes.   
Crap. Did I just say that? Oh, man. I've been   
hanging around the Inners for too long.   
  
"Umm, we don't know if he's an enemy yet."   
Ami interjected.   
  
Haruka gave her a 'look'. "A guy shows up   
dressed all in black, using the same kind of   
energy as the Dark Kingdom, and you wonder if   
he's an enemy? Geez. I say the next time we see   
him, we take him down."   
  
Rei saw an opportunity and couldn't resist.   
"Like you did? How's the head, by the way?"   
  
Haruka just turned and glared at her.   
Unfortunately, Rei's comment started Usagi off.   
  
"Yeah, Haruka. How is your head? It looked   
liked it really hurt when you hit the ground on   
it." Usagi asked, with complete sincerity.   
  
Haruka gritted her teeth. If it had been   
anyone who asked, she would have proceeded to   
tear them a new orifice. But Usagi asked. Usagi,   
her Princess. One of the few people she   
literally couldn't bring herself to hurt in any   
way. "It's fine, Usagi."   
  
"Oh, good. Are we done with the meeting? I   
want to go get some ice cream."   
  
"No, it's not done, odango-atama! We've got   
a lot of stuff left to cover! Right, Ami?" Rei   
said.   
  
"Um, actually, I can't think of anything.   
And some ice cream does sound nice right about   
now."   
  
Rei just stared. Her best back-up source had   
failed her. Ami...AMI!...had said there wasn't   
anything that she needed to do. I give up.   
  
"All right, fine, let's go." Rei grumbled.   
Hope struck. "Unless you guys have anything?"   
She asked the Outers in a hopeful tone.   
  
Haruka grinned. Oh, yes. "No, actually,   
Rei, we're fresh out of things. Let's get some   
ice cream. I think I might feel a HEAD-ache   
coming on, and it should help." Heh. Don't ever   
cross me girl. I'll always win.   
  
Hope died a painful death. Oh, man. Here we   
go again. I can already hear Usagi: "Rei! Don't   
be such a meany! I just need to borrow a little   
money!" I'll get you for this, Haruka.   
  
And that effectively ended the meeting.   
  
And that ends the flashback. We now return you   
to your regularly scheduled fic.   
**************************   
  
Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Nice story.   
Where's the questions?"   
  
"Let's see: 1.Who was the guy in black? 2.Is   
he on our side? 3.Who is our enemy? 4.When do we   
meet Sailor Nemesis? 5.Who is Sailor Nemesis?   
6.What's the secret ingredient in Pepsi?   
7.Why..."   
  
Haruka was interrupted by Setsuna arching an   
eyebrow and saying one word.   
  
"Pepsi?"   
  
Haruka groaned and dropped her head into her   
hands. Oh, man. I HAVE been hanging the Inners   
to much. "Ignore that last question, ok? Answer   
the rest, though."   
  
Setsuna smiled. "Ignore which last question?   
`What's the secret ingredient in Pepsi?' or   
`Why?'"   
  
Haruka pulled her head out of her hands and   
gave Setsuna an exasperated look. "The Pepsi   
one." I think I liked her better when she was   
all uptight and mysterious, not joking and   
mysterious. It freaks me out.   
  
"Several of the questions have the same   
answer. That is all I will say." That ought to   
keep her awake all night. "Now I am going to go   
to bed. I would advise that you two do the same.   
Morning comes early this time of year, you   
know." Especially for one of you.   
  
Haruka and Michiru watched as Setsuna walked   
up the stairs. "I think we should probably get   
to bed, don't you think?" Michiru asked.   
  
"Yes, we probably should. I need some   
sleep."   
  
"Who said anything about sleep?" Michiru   
replied with a `cat who ate the canary' grin.   
  
"Why, Michiru Kaiou, are you suggesting   
something improper?" Haruka said with a mock   
look of shock on her face.   
  
Michiru leaned over and whispered in   
Haruka's ear. Haruka raised an eyebrow, then her   
eyes went wide. She looked at her lover and said   
just two words.   
  
"Tongue depressors?"   
  
"I'd have to show you." Michiru said with a   
smile as she lead Haruka up the stairs to their   
room.   
  
*********************   
5:30 AM, the next morning.   
  
Poke.   
  
Poke, poke.   
  
Poke, poke, nudge, nudge.   
(Wink, wink. You know what I mean? Sorry,   
couldn't resist. -Slacker)   
  
Poke, POKE, nudge, NUDGE.   
  
Haruka reluctantly began to wake up. She had   
a very late (and energetic) night. As a result,   
she seriously wanted to sleep in. The insistent   
jabs to her back were preventing that, though.   
It took a few seconds for some basic facts to   
filter through her mind. Fact 1: It was very   
early. The clock on Michiru's nightstand proved   
this fact. Fact 2: The warm bundle cuddled up   
against her chest was Michiru. The green hair   
snuggled under her chin proved that fact. Fact   
3: She knew where both of Michiru's hands were.   
You don't need to know how she knew this fact.   
Which lead to Conclusion 1: Michiru wasn't the   
one poking her.   
  
Haruka looked over her shoulder. Ranko was   
standing there with an insanely cheerful grin on   
her face. Obviously, she was a morning person.   
Haruka wasn't. I'm glad we put on some   
pajamas. Haruka looked at Ranko with the glare   
that every morning person gets from someone who   
isn't, and asked "What do you want?" Or, at   
least that was what she wanted to ask. It came   
out more like "Whaaayawant?"   
  
Fortunately Ranko had practice translating   
non-morning person dialect into something   
understandable from living with Nabiki.   
  
"You said you'd spar with me. Let's go!"   
  
Haruka blearily blinked. "Now?" Incredulity   
appeared prominently in her voice.   
  
"Of course! It's the best time to spar! When   
we're done, we can watch the sunrise!"   
  
Haruka stared at Ranko. "Not a chance. Get   
out and let me sleep." With that, she turned   
over and started to go back to sleep. She heard   
Ranko sigh.   
  
"You know, I wanted to do this the nice way.   
I can see that won't happen. Oh, well. `A   
martial artist's life is full of peril.' after   
all." The faintly mocking way she said the last   
part made Haruka think that she had heard it   
many times.   
  
Haruka heard the door open, then close. She   
was just about to fall back asleep when she   
heard it open again. She could hear footsteps   
walking up to her side of the bed, along with   
something she couldn't identify. Some kind of a   
clanking, sloshing noise.   
  
What the heck is that? It sounds familiar.   
Haruka figured out what it was one second too   
late. Clank, slosh. SLOSH! She looked over to   
see Ranko tipping a bucket of water.   
  
Haruka had enough time to make a decision:   
Roll out of bed and let Michiru get   
soaked...OR...push Michiru out of bed and get   
soaked herself. Not a choice at all, really.   
  
Michiru let out a scream when she woke up   
flying through the air. It was cut off when she   
hit the ground. She looked over to the bed in   
time to see a wet, angry Haruka chasing after a   
grinning, bucket-holding Ranko.   
  
"YOU'RE GONNA DIE!! YOU RED-HEADED   
LITTLE..." Haruka's voice faded into   
incomprehensible profanities as she ran after   
Ranko.  
  
As Haruka chased Ranko down the stairs and   
out the back door, she noticed Setsuna standing   
in the doorway of the kitchen sipping a cup of   
tea. Setsuna was impeccably dressed, as usual.   
She was also smiling.   
  
Haruka ran into the back yard and began to   
look around for Ranko. She wasn't hard to find.   
She was standing in the middle of the yard   
dressed in a white shirt and black pants in the   
same style as she had worn yesterday. She was   
still grinning and laughing. Haruka growled and   
jumped. One way or another she was going to see   
Ranko soaking wet. The koi pond was just too   
convenient.   
  
Ten minutes later, Haruka hadn't even   
touched her. She had touched the koi pond,   
though. Frequently. She was right. It WAS too   
convenient.   
  
Setsuna smiled as Haruka went into the pond   
again. I'm glad I decided to have that pond   
installed. This makes it all worthwhile.   
  
Eventually, Haruka decided that she wasn't   
ever going to catch Ranko and went to take a   
shower. The fact that Ranko wasn't even   
breathing hard was just salt in the wound.   
  
As she went in, Ranko called "Good match,   
Haruka! See ya tomorrow!"   
  
Haruka paused, twitched a couple of times,   
and continued her trek inside the house. As she   
walked past Setsuna, who was still holding her   
tea, Setsuna remarked innocently "Why Haruka!   
You're all wet! How ever did that happen?"   
  
Haruka growled and walked past. As she   
disappeared in the direction of the shower,   
Setsuna called out "Now do you see why I wasn't   
worried about Ranko getting hurt?"   
  
As Haruka let the warm water of the shower   
relax her, she had to admit that Setsuna was   
right. Ranko was good. Very good. Quite possibly   
the best Haruka had faced in a very long while.   
She had been trying her hardest to catch her and   
had still never even managed to touch her in any   
significant way. Haruka sighed as she shampooed   
her hair. Geez, she's good. I wonder what style   
that was? I didn't recognize it. I could   
recognize moves from at least six different   
styles in it, though. Sparring with her should   
prove to be interesting.   
  
Haruka emerged to a delicious smell. What   
is that? It smells great! Following her nose,   
she came to the kitchen. In it, Ranko was   
cooking something on the griddle. Ranko looked   
over and smiled.   
  
"Hey, Haruka! Have an okonomiyaki!" Ranko   
said with a cheerful smile. Somehow Haruka   
seemed to feel her anger melt away at the smile.   
Ranko was so freaking cheerful it was hard to   
keep a grudge against her. Kind of like Usagi in   
that.   
  
Haruka accepted a plate and sat down at the   
table. When she took a bite, she had to catch   
herself from falling over. This is GOOD!   
Haruka expressed her sentiments to Ranko.   
  
"Oh, that's nothing. You want some good   
okonomiyaki, you go to my friend Ucchan. She   
makes the best in the world. Period." Ranko   
replied with absolute conviction.   
  
"Oh, really? Where is her place?" Hotaru   
asked.   
  
"Um, I, uh, haven't seen her in a long time.   
So I don't really know where she is right now."   
Ranko stammered out.   
  
Haruka and Michiru caught each other's eyes.   
The same thought was running through both of   
their minds: She's hiding something. And she's   
a crappy liar. They both resolved to find out   
what their new houseguest was keeping hidden.   
  
Hotaru looked at the time and `Eeeped!'   
  
"I'm gonna be late for school!" Hotaru said   
as she jumped off her chair and ran out the   
door. Haruka and Michiru looked after her and   
smiled. Hotaru was a lot stronger after her   
rebirth. While not as strong as she should be   
for her age, she no longer got winded from a   
short run like she used to.   
  
Ranko watched Hotaru run out of the room,   
too. Hmmmm. She's a little on the weak side for   
her age. Some Tai Chi would add flexibility and   
muscle tone without hurting her. Why not ask?   
  
"Hey, you two. Where are Hotaru's parents?"   
  
"Why?" Haruka asked cautiously.   
  
"Weeell, I wanted to ask them a question   
concerning Hotaru. So where are they?"   
  
"Her mother is dead and her father   
disappeared a couple of years ago. It's kind of   
a sensitive subject with her, so don't bring it   
up around her. We're her guardians, so any   
questions you have about her are our concern.   
Now what do you want?" Haruka replied.   
  
"Well, I couldn't help but notice that she   
seems a bit weaker than she should be at her   
age. I was gonna ask if I could teach her some   
martial arts. I was thinking maybe Tai Chi. It   
would give her a better muscle tone and   
increased endurance. Heck, I could teach you   
guys, too, if you want."   
  
"I'm not sure if Hotaru would like to learn   
martial arts. She's only twelve. Maybe we should   
wait a little while." Michiru hesitantly   
replied.   
  
"The best time to start is when you're   
young." Ranko retorted.   
  
"I don't know..."   
  
"How about this: I ask Hotaru. If she says   
yes, I train her for a month. Then we ask her   
again. If she still says yes, I train her until   
I'm happy with her. Ok? That work?" Ranko was   
getting impatient with their indecision. Either   
she could train Hotaru or she couldn't. If she   
could, she wanted to get started. If she   
couldn't, she wanted to get started on trying to   
change their minds. Hotaru needed to get some   
exercise.   
  
Haruka and Michiru looked at each other.   
They could see each other's thoughts clearly in   
their eyes. Why not? Most likely Hotaru will   
say no and that will end it.   
  
"Ok, we'll let you ask. If she says no,   
you'll leave it alone, though. All right?"   
Haruka finally replied.   
  
"No problem." Heh. This'll be great.   
  
Setsuna chose that moment to walk into the   
kitchen. She pointedly looked at the clock then   
at the trio at the table. "Nice morning, isn't   
it. Hard to believe you're going to be late for   
school."   
  
"What?" Haruka looked at the clock. "Oh,   
CRAP! Come on, Michiru!"   
  
Haruka was about to go out the door when   
Michiru stopped her.   
  
"Aren't you forgetting someone?"   
  
"Huh?"   
  
"Ranko."   
  
"Oh, yeah."   
  
"Don't worry about her. She's found her own   
way there." Setsuna called from the kitchen.   
Over the rooftops. But they don't need to know   
that. "In fact, she'll probably beat you   
there."   
  
Haruka snorted. Yeah, right. "What about   
you?"   
  
"I'm already there." With that   
pronouncement, Setsuna turned and walked through   
the doorway.   
  
Huh? Was Haruka's only thought before she   
ran out the door.   
  
Meanwhile, Setsuna had casually walked back   
to the kitchen to finish her breakfast. She   
slowly finished of her food with great pleasure.   
Looking at the clock she realized that she had   
only five minutes until she was late. It was a   
ten minute drive, even with Haruka doing the   
driving. She smiled as she transformed her   
clothing into her Senshi fuku and teleported to   
her office at the school, where a simple act of   
will turned her fuku into her usual business   
suit. I think it's about time I tell them about   
that little trick. She waved calmly at Haruka   
as she squealed into the parking lot. She smiled   
inwardly at the look Haruka gave her. Maybe   
not. That look is priceless.   
  
Then Haruka noticed Ranko leaning against a   
tree by the school. Ranko waved.  
  
"Hey, Haruka! What took you so long? I was   
here five minutes ago!" Ranko grinned at the   
pop-eyed look Haruka gave her. Man, I'm having   
fun. I should have tried this a long time ago.   
Just getting an entire nights sleep has helped   
me a lot. Of course, staying in my cursed form   
sucks, but they won't think to look for it.   
After all, I hate it.   
  
Ranko's day just seemed to flow from that   
point. She went through the usual `first day at   
a new school' routine: getting introduced to the   
class, getting a seat assigned (near the back by   
a window), meeting people, etc. The day had   
both a high point and a low point. The high   
point was meeting some of Haruka's and Michiru's   
friends. Ranko particularly liked the blonde   
with the funny hair, Usagi. She seemed so...   
exuberant. Ranko thought back to the meeting.   
  
***************   
(Yes! It's a flashback! Thrilling, isn't it!)   
Lunchtime, Juban High   
  
"HI! You're Ranko, aren't you? I'm Usagi   
Tsukino! Haruka and Michiru told me all about   
you! Where are you going?"   
  
Ranko was startled by the sudden appearance   
of a blonde with one of the most ridiculous   
hairstyles she had ever seen. It looked like two   
meatballs on top of her head.   
  
"Um, yeah, I'm Ranko. And I'm going over to   
that tree to eat." Ranko replied as she motioned   
to a tree with no one around it.   
  
"But you'd be lonely! Come over her and eat   
with us!" Usagi motioned to another tree with   
several people under it. Haruka and Michiru were   
there, along with a tall brunette, a shorter   
red-head, and a girl with bluish-black hair who   
had her face buried in a book. Haruka gave a   
little wave.   
  
"Bet you Usagi gets her over here in under   
five minutes." Makoto commented.   
  
"No bet. I know she will." Haruka replied.   
  
They were right, of course. Usagi convinced   
Ranko to eat lunch with them in under three,   
mostly through pleading and not taking "No" for   
an answer. It was the "Puppy-dog eyes" that   
finally made Ranko give in.   
  
"That's Makoto Kino, and that's Naru Osaka,   
and that's Ami Mizuno, and you already know   
Haruka and Michiru. Now we all know each other!"   
Usagi said in her usual insanely happy tone.   
  
Ranko had a weird feeling of Deja vu during   
the introductions. Almost like she knew all of   
them. It was particularly strong with the red-   
head, Naru. She felt as though she knew her, and   
they weren't friends by any stretch of the   
imagination. The feeling passed quickly and   
Ranko shrugged it off. If any of them were a   
danger, her Martial Artist Danger Sense (TM)   
would have let her know.   
  
Lunch passed fairly quickly. They talked and   
had an enjoyable time. And Ranko learned why   
Haruka and Michiru were in the same class as   
Usagi and her friends. Apparently, their old   
school had some kind of a gas explosion. Their   
old school had some kind of accelerated system   
which would have put them a few grades ahead,   
but somehow, all their records had turned up   
missing. So they decided to go to Usagi's school   
at the usual grade.   
  
"That sucks." Ranko commented. Gas   
explosion, huh? Sounds like the stuff the cops   
came up with to explain the damage from my   
fights.   
  
"Yeah, it does." Haruka replied. Of course,   
we've got the records, but this way we can keep   
a closer watch over our Princess.   
  
******************   
  
That lunch was fun. Ranko mused. Have to   
do it again. That Vice-Principal, I could do   
with out, though.   
  
The meeting with the Vice-Principal,   
Mrs.Konabi, had been...unpleasant. She didn't   
like the fact that Ranko wasn't even going to   
try to conform, and Ranko hated the fact that   
Mrs.Konabi was going to try to make her. Ranko   
was thankful for Dr. Tofu's note saying she   
couldn't wear a school uniform for medical   
reasons. And, since Dr. Tofu was currently out   
of town on a medical research trip, Mrs. Konabi   
couldn't refute it. Of course, Ranko had to   
modify the note a little to fit her current   
name, but, when you've learned Martial Arts   
Calligraphy, forgery is easy. Ranko came out of   
the meeting on the Vice-Principal's hit list.   
  
A girl's uniform. Feh. As if. Ranko   
thought in disgust. Definitely the low point of   
my day.   
  
Other than that, the day went a lot better   
than days at Furinkan. Ranko had actually gotten   
an entire night's sleep, which helped her stay   
awake in class. Of course, class was still   
boring.   
  
Man, it'll be great to get home. Ranko   
thought as she roof-hopped back to Setsuna's   
house. Ranko stopped suddenly. 'Home'? When did   
I start considering this place as `home'? I   
haven't even been here a week!  
  
Ranko landed about a block from Setsuna's   
house and walked the rest of the way there. When   
she walked in the door, Setsuna was sitting in   
the kitchen drinking tea.   
  
"Hey, Setsuna." Did she even move today?   
  
"Hello, Ranko. Have a cup of tea. How was   
school?"   
  
"No thanks. And school was better than I   
expected. I made some new friends."   
  
"Yes, I know. I work there."   
  
"Yeah, you're the school guidance counselor.   
Why do ya mention it?"   
  
"Because I've seen your records. All of   
them. You will do better. I will make sure of   
it. Personally, if necessary."   
  
"Uh, thanks." This sounds like fun. I hope   
the false records held.   
  
"Don't thank me yet. You haven't had to   
learn from me. Now, you have homework that needs   
to be done, do you not?"   
  
"Yeah."   
  
"Then go do it."   
  
As Ranko started to walk up the stairs,   
Setsuna called out. "Haruka, Michiru, Hotaru,   
and I have some business to take care of   
tonight. It will take us some time, so don't   
wait up."   
  
"Right."   
  
Ranko was in her room before something   
occurred to her. `Business?' `Some time?'   
`Don't wait up?' With Hotaru? She's, like,   
twelve! What the heck could they be doing?   
Ranko pondered and reached a decision. I'm   
gonna wait up for `em. Now I'm curious.   
  
*******************   
10:00 PM, Setsuna's house.   
  
Now Ranko was bored. She had actually gotten   
her homework done (Amazing how much easier it   
was without people trying to kill her.),   
discovered that there was nothing on TV, and   
practiced her katas. She was out of ideas. She   
went up to her room, plopped down on the bed,   
crossed her arms behind her head, and stared up   
at the ceiling. She sighed.   
  
Now what do I do?   
  
Eventually, as is usual when you lay on a   
comfy bed, she fell asleep.   
  
***********************   
  
Meanwhile, somewhere in Juban, the Senshi   
were almost as bored.   
  
*Find anything yet, Mercury?* Mars asked   
over the communicator.   
  
*Not a blasted thing.* Mercury wasn't happy.   
The enemy was changing patterns. Every night for   
weeks they had an `incident' early in the   
evening, usually around nine to ten. It was now   
almost one and there was no sign of activity.   
  
Mercury hated it when the enemy changed   
patterns. It usually meant that she had come to   
an incorrect conclusion. Which made all the data   
she gathered out of date. So she had to collect   
it again and start her research over from   
scratch. She was about to tell everyone to call   
it a night when the Mercury Computer beeped.   
  
She opened it up and grimaced. A portal had   
opened up several blocks away. That's what you   
get when you complain. She opened her   
communicator.   
  
*Guys, we got one. Home in on me.* Then she   
went to find out what ugly creature came through   
this time.   
  
************   
  
"Well, this one doesn't seem all that bad."   
Jupiter commented.   
  
Indeed, it didn't. Usually their foes had   
spikes, tentacles, slime, or something similar.   
This one didn't have any of them. It would   
almost pass as human, if not for a few small   
problems. Like the lime green skin. Or the neon   
orange hair. Of course, the glowing red eyes   
were a dead give away.   
  
"Not all that bad? It looks like a reject   
from `Saturday Night Fever'!" Venus protested.   
  
"Who cares what it looks like? Lets just   
kill it so I can get to bed!" Moon interjected.   
  
"Seems like a good idea to me. Mercury, what   
are you getting off of it?" Uranus asked.   
  
"That's the problem. I'm not getting   
anything off of it. It's acting abnormally. It's   
not attacking anyone, it's not enacting any big,   
obvious plans, it's just standing there, like   
it's just waiting for us to come and kill it."   
  
"Well, far be it from me to disappoint it."   
Uranus smiled. "WORLD SHAKING!"   
  
The blast hit the youma high in the chest   
and knocked it back into light post. It slumped   
down.   
  
The Senshi jumped down from the rooftop they   
were standing on and landed across the street   
from the youma. Uranus bowed to Sailor Moon and   
gestured towards the youma.   
  
"My Princess, I present to you one youma for   
removal. Do your stuff."   
  
As Sailor Moon got ready to cast her attack,   
the same thought was going through everyone's   
mind. Well, this was anticlimactic.   
  
Then the youma looked up and smiled, which   
revealed another reason it wouldn't pass as   
human. It had rows of needle sharp teeth, many   
of which had unpleasant looking stains on them.   
  
It stood up just before Sailor Moon finished   
her attack, held out it's hand, and cried "WORLD   
SHAKING!" in Uranus' voice.   
  
If Tuxedo Kamen hadn't been so fast on his   
feet, the ball of energy would have hit Sailor   
Moon directly in the chest. As it was, he would   
be looking for a new cloak after the fight.   
  
All the rest of the Senshi scattered.   
  
"Holy Kamis! Mercury! What the hell did it   
do!" Jupiter yelled as she dove for cover.   
  
"It threw a World Shaking!"   
  
"I know that! How?"   
  
"I don't know! Either it absorbed it, or it   
duplicated it! I-"   
  
Mercury was interrupted as the car she was   
crouching behind was reduced the scrap metal by   
another blast. The blast itself wasn't that bad,   
but hearing the youma cast it in Uranus' voice   
was.   
  
Mercury groaned as she picked herself up.   
Well, that answers that. "Hey, Jupiter?"   
  
"Yeah? You Ok?"   
  
"I'm fine, a bit shook up, but fine   
otherwise. As for your earlier question, it   
duplicated the World Shaking."   
  
"Oh, really? Let's see it duplicate THIS!"   
  
"NO!!!" But she was too late. Jupiter had   
already threw her Oak Evolution at the youma.   
Oh, crap. It promptly replied by throwing it   
back, followed by a World Shaking. Jupiter   
narrowly dodged her own attack, but got tagged   
by the follow-up. She proceeded to make a nice,   
pretty imprint in a wall. She looked like she   
wasn't going to be leaving it for a while.   
  
"Don't throw anything at it! It'll just send   
it back!" Mercury warned.   
  
"We'd figured that out already! How do we   
kill it!?" Mars shouted.   
  
"I'm working on it! Just give me some time!"   
  
"We'll try!"   
  
If Mercury hadn't been so busy, she would   
have noticed a small notice flashing on the   
screen of the Mercury Computer as a figure   
landed on a rooftop. It wasn't there for long   
before Mercury covered it with her frantic   
calculations.   
  
*********************   
Setsuna's house, near the same time.   
  
Ranko dreamed.   
  
In her dream, she was standing on some kind   
of a plain. Looking around, she could see a   
large gathering of what appeared to be guards   
surrounded her. In front of her, there were   
several young girls in fukus.  
  
They all appeared ready to attack, with the   
exception of a red-head in the back, who was   
doubled over, coughing and rubbing her throat   
and a woman with long, dark green hair holding a   
staff. The green-haired one appeared to be in   
shock about something. Behind the fuku-clad   
girls, were two regal-looking blondes. The older   
one had platinum blond hair and was saying   
something about "abusing our trust, betraying   
your oath," or something like that.   
  
It wasn't important, so she ignored it. The   
younger blonde had a young man in black armor   
hovering protectively over her. He was holding a   
red rose in his right hand.   
  
Looking behind her, she could see the ruins of   
what appeared to be part of a palace. Over the   
palace, far away in the sky were the remains of   
a planet. Directly overhead, the Earth floated.   
I'm on the moon. This is one WEIRD dream. By   
this time, the platinum blonde had finished her   
speech and was holding up some kind of crystal.   
She said something and a beam of white light   
came out from it and hit Ranko in the chest,   
where it did absolutely nothing.   
  
Everyone seemed shocked by this. Ranko ran   
at them. They proceeded to throw fire, ice,   
lightning, water, and various energy blasts at   
her, all of which she ignored. At least until   
the rose hit her in the shoulder. That HURT.   
  
I thought you couldn't feel pain in a   
dream?   
  
The rose slowed her down just long enough   
for the woman with the staff to level it at her   
and whisper something. The ball of dark red   
energy that flew out and hit her didn't feel too   
good, either. Ranko shrugged it off and   
proceeded to her goal. The red-haired chick. She   
got to her goal and proceeded with her mission:   
wrapping her hands around the red-head's throat   
until she stopped breathing. She had to gently   
knock the other fuku-clad girls out of the way,   
but who cared? In the back of her mind, she   
could feel their attacks hit her. Just before   
another one of those red balls hit her again,   
she heard the redhead's neck give out a sharp   
"CRACK!" Then the energy hit her and everything   
went dark.   
  
Ranko jerked awake with a scream. She was   
covered in sweat and the bed was soaked with it.   
What in the HELL was THAT!?!?! I don't know   
what I ate, but I'm NOT gonna eat it again!   
  
She got out of bed and looked at the clock.   
1:15 in the morning. Oh my Kamis, what am I   
doing up this late. She walked over to the   
window. As she looked out at the city, a feeling   
of intense dread swept over her. Princess!   
  
Before she even thought about it she was out   
of the window and heading into the city at her   
top speed. She didn't know where she was going,   
but she was gonna get there fast. As she ran,   
she analyzed what happened. I was looking out   
the window, felt something, and took off. It   
kinda felt like when I'm about to be attacked.   
Weird. Hold on a second, `Princess'? What the   
heck's with that? I don't know any Princess.   
Couple of princes, but no Princess.   
  
In just a few moments she was at her   
destination. She landed on a roof and surveyed   
the street. It looks like a war zone. Who or   
what did this? Just then, a body flew through   
the air and impacted the wall below her. When   
the dust cleared, she could see a small girl   
dressed in a fuku with a dark skirt, a black   
neckerchief on the front, and a black bow on her   
back. Ranko looked along her trajectory and saw   
several other fuku-clad girls fighting   
something. They'll be fine for a while. The one   
below me might not be.   
  
Ranko was about to jump down when something   
occurred to her. I can't meet her like this.   
She'd know me later. She looked around for an   
idea. A few seconds of looking were all that   
were needed. A costume shop. How convenient.   
She jumped across the street and went into the   
shop. A few seconds of looking and some hot   
water and he was ready.   
  
Saturn was not having a good night. The   
youma proved to be unable to replicate their   
weapons, so that meant they could hurt it. Of   
course, it had the stereotypical regenerative   
ability, so it didn't stay hurt. They couldn't   
use any of their attacks for fear that it would   
just throw them back at them. She didn't even   
want to THINK about what it could do with a   
Silence Glaive Surprise. And the thing was so   
incredibly fast they could hardly fight it up   
close.   
  
I think I'll just rest here for a while   
before I fight again. Yes, just a little rest.   
  
"Hello, there." A voice interrupted her   
thoughts. It was deep and pleasant. She cracked   
her eyes and looked to her side. A man dressed   
all in black was crouching down at her side. He   
had silver studs on his right forearm and a   
silver chain wrapped around his left. His shirt   
had a light pattern done in silver starting at   
his left shoulder and winding down to his left   
hip, where it continued down to the bottom of   
his pant leg. The design was mirrored on his   
right side. He had some kind of symbol on his   
head that was obscured by his hair. His eyes   
were the deepest shade of blue she'd ever seen.   
She stared into them.   
  
Saturn shook herself out of her reverie and   
answered him. "Um, hi."   
  
"And what would your name be?" He asked as   
he offered his hand to help her up.   
  
"I'm Sailor Saturn." As she got up, she   
marveled at his grip. She could tell he was very   
strong, but he helped her up with such   
gentleness. "Who are you?"   
  
"Me?" He seemed bemused by something. "I   
guess you would call me...Princess!"   
  
"Princess? What?" Saturn realized that the   
man was no longer holding her hand to help her   
up. She looked around and saw him standing about   
ten feet away. He was holding something in his   
arms. What is he...?   
  
Then she saw two blond ponytails and she   
knew. Oh, no. `Princess?' Usagi! In a flash,   
she was there.   
  
The man turned and looked at her. His eyes   
were hard as stone. He handed Sailor Moon to   
her.   
  
"She'll be fine. Just a little dazed. I   
caught her before she could hit the wall and do   
any real damage. Take care of her, Saturn. I'm   
going to find what did this and kill it.   
Painfully." Saying that, he turned and started   
running towards the fight.  
  
Saturn shuddered at the utter ruthlessness   
in his tone. I hope this guy never gets angry   
at me. He's scary. Her attention was diverted   
by Sailor Moon snapping out of her daze.   
  
"Saturn? What happened?"   
  
"You were thrown at a wall. Some guy caught   
you before you could hit and do any real   
damage."   
  
"`Some guy'? What's his name?"   
  
Saturn started to answer, then realized   
something. "He never told me his name. I don't   
know it."   
  
"Well, what did he look like, then?"   
  
As Saturn described him, Moon whispered,   
"It's him."   
  
"What?"   
  
"It's him! The guy who saved me at the train   
station! I knew he was on our side! Come on!   
We've got to help him!" With that, Sailor Moon   
took of running back to the fight.  
  
Wow. Usagi running TOWARDS a fight. That   
has to be a first. Saturn thought as she   
followed her leader.  
  
******************  
  
The street was in ruins. The Senshi's fights   
had a tendency to create property damage, but   
this would beat some of the destruction caused   
in Nerima.  
  
The Senshi had been fighting the youma for   
almost twenty minutes at this point, and they   
were getting tired. Most of their fights lasted   
five minutes, tops. They just didn't have the   
stamina necessary for drawn-out battles.  
  
"Mercury! How are we doing?" Mars panted.  
  
"Not good. I still can't find a weak point,   
and it's not being weakened enough by our   
physical attacks." Mercury replied, a bit of   
despair creeping into her voice.  
  
"Well, why not? I've seen the Space Sword   
cut through steel, and you know what the Silence   
Glaive can do. Why aren't they hurting it?"   
Jupiter asked.  
  
"I told you: I DON'T KNOW!" Mercury rose   
from her resting place. Time to give us another   
break. "SHABON SPRAY!"   
  
As the fog blanketed the area, Mercury sank   
back into her cover.   
  
"Man, I wish Pluto was here." Jupiter   
remarked as she joined Mercury.  
  
"I am."  
  
Both of the Senshi screamed and jumped as   
the voice answered Jupiter's comment. They   
stared as Pluto emerged out of the fog in front   
of them.  
  
"Please stop doing that!" Mercury panted as   
she tried to regain her breath.  
  
Jupiter cut straight to the point. "Why the   
hell aren't you fighting this thing with us!"  
  
Pluto gave her a calm glance. "Do you really   
want this thing to have access to my power? I   
assure you, I do not. And I am not a front line   
fighter unless absolutely necessary. And it is   
not necessary."  
  
"Oh, really? And why isn't it necessary? In   
case you hadn't noticed, we're getting the crap   
kicked out of us!"  
  
Pluto smiled and pointed through the now-  
thinning fog.  
  
"That's why."  
  
They looked to where she was pointing and   
saw...  
  
"That's the guy from the train station."   
Mercury stated calmly.  
  
"And he looks seriously PISSED!" Jupiter   
noted.  
  
Mercury began to scan him with her visor and   
computer. "It's definitely him. Same energy   
signatures. Quite a bit stronger this time,   
though."  
  
"That would explain the lightning, wouldn't   
it." Jupiter remarked.  
  
"Lightning?" Mercury looked up from her data.   
What she saw made her skin crawl. The man had   
electricity crawling over his skin. That wasn't   
so bad. The fact that the lightning was jet   
black was.  
  
He held out his right hand. A crackling ball   
of electricity began to gather in his palm. He   
spoke, and his voice held an ice-cold killing   
rage.  
  
"Hey, ugly. You the one that threw the   
Princess?"  
  
The youma turned and snarled at him in   
response.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes." He reared his arm   
back in preparation to throw.  
  
"WAIT! It duplicates any attacks used   
against it!" Mercury screamed, but she was too   
late. He had already thrown.  
  
The ball of electricity flew towards the   
youma, who stood there and waited for it to hit.   
The Senshi all started to back up. The man   
grinned a nasty grin and made a motion with his   
right hand.  
  
Just before the energy hit the youma, it   
stopped and hovered. The youma looked at it   
curiously. It reached out to touch it. Just   
before the youma touched it, it disappeared. The   
youma stood there and stared at where the energy   
had been. So did the Senshi.  
  
"Okay, what did THAT accomplish?" Uranus   
asked in a peeved tone. She had been nailed in   
the ribs early in the fight and they were just   
barely knitting.   
  
"It's called a `distraction.' The idea is to   
`distract' the `enemy' from your `real attack.'   
You should try it sometime." A sarcastic voice   
said from BEHIND the youma. The youma turned   
around to face it just in time to catch a jagged   
piece of steel pipe in it's right shoulder. "As   
you can see, it works quite well."   
  
As he walked out of the shadows, the man   
picked another piece of pipe. He continued to   
talk as he walked towards the youma.  
  
"As you've no doubt noticed, this youma   
duplicates any magical attack used against it."   
He ducked under a swing from the youma's good   
arm and slammed the pipe into it's right knee.   
KLANG! "Now, the solution to that problem is to   
make sure you don't use magic against it."   
KLANG! Left elbow. "You shouldn't even use   
magical weapons, as they can be duplicated if   
you hit it enough." KLANG! Ribs. "It heals   
itself with the energy it gets from your attacks   
and weapons." KLANG! Ribs again. "In effect,   
every time you hit it with your weapons, you   
helped it to heal." CRACK! Right shoulder,   
driving the piece of pipe deeper. "Nevertheless,   
killing it is quite easy if you know how."   
SMACK! He slammed it against a wall. "You just   
have to keep hitting it until it dies." CRACK!   
The pipe in the right shoulder was driven into   
the wall. "It's really very obvious." SKRUNCH!   
The other pipe was driven through the left   
shoulder, into the wall. "Of course, you have to   
make sure that there's no danger to yourself."   
SCRACK! SCRACK! Two convenient pieces of rebar   
were driven through it's hips. "Now that it   
poses no threat unless you're stupid, you can   
just beat it to death with non-magical weapons."   
He reached out and patted it on the head. It   
snapped at his hand. "Or you can finish it the   
fast way." As he said that, he grabbed its head   
and twisted. SNAP-CRACK-CRUNCH!   
  
The youma proceeded to do the `fade into   
dust and disappear' routine. As he walked   
towards the Senshi, the man dusted his hands off   
and commented "My that was refreshing. Brought   
back memories."   
  
Sailor Moon chose that moment to finally   
arrive at the scene. She ran over in front of   
him and exclaimed "Thank you for your help!   
What's your name?"  
  
He looked at her, smiled, and dropped to one   
knee. He took her hand and declared "The Queen   
is dead. Long live the Queen! My Queen, I am   
your humble servant. My life is yours. I am   
yours' to command."  
  
Mercury looked thoughtful. Where have I   
heard that phrase before? Let's see, it was...Oh   
My...GOD! It couldn't be. She turned to look at   
Pluto, who looked at her, smiled, and softly   
said "Finally figured it out, I see. Took you   
long enough."  
  
"Figured what out?" Uranus asked, having   
overheard Pluto's comment.  
  
Mercury pointed at the black-clad man who   
was now standing up and walking away.   
  
"He's Sailor Nemesis."  
  
The newly recognized Nemesis turned towards   
Mercury and gave an evil grin.   
  
"Real kick in the pants, ain't it?" He   
replied.  
  
End of Chapter.  
  
To be continued...  
**********************************  
Author's rant:  
  
Yes, it's another cliffhanger. Yes, I'm away   
several of you swore to do several very nasty-   
mean things if I ended in another cliffhanger.  
  
To them, I reply: 1. I end where the story   
seems to hit a natural ending point. And 2. Come   
and get me! Muahahahaha!  
  
To the rest of you, sorry for the delay in   
getting this out. Circumstances have resulted in   
delaying my writing. (And I'm damn slow to begin   
with.) I've also been working on other projects,   
as well. The prequel to "The Problem With   
Angels." (See Ted? I'm working, I'm working! Now   
please leave me be! Just kidding!) and several   
new ideas have taken up my time. (*Sigh* So many   
ideas, so little time.)  
  
I'll try to get Chapter 4 out in less time   
than it took me on 3, I promise. (Slacker hides   
crossed fingers behind back.)  
  
Loads of Kudos to my Pre-readers:  
  
Aaron Blomenkamp   
anchan   
Aaron Moorman   
CCMax   
E_Nebedum   
Gil F. de Noronha   
I'm Apathetic  
Lord Anthrax   
Mr. P  
'tsuki-chan   
William Dix   
Xaldaran   
  
  
And a special thanks to Harold Ancell and Jay   
Kominek, both of whom offered extremely helpful   
C&C. Thanks guys!  
  
And thanks go out to you, the reader. Without   
you, I'd be nothing.  
  
Ja Ne!  
Slacker  
  
Ps. Here's a snippet from Chapter 4, just for   
you as a bonus:  
  
`Kasumi slammed the knife down point-first   
into the table between Akane's fingers.  
  
"No, Akane, I think it would be best if you   
DIDN'T make supper tonight!" She ground out in   
her sweetest voice.'  
  
  
I'm sorry, it was suggested to me and I have   
to use it. It's just SO DAMN FUNNY!  
  
And, just for reading this far...an OMAKE!  
  
**************  
  
"Real kick in the pants, ain't it?"  
  
Mercury turned to Pluto, and Pluto replied   
to the unasked question.  
  
"I never said Nemesis was female, did I?   
You assumed that. And you know what they say   
about assumption." Pluto had a nasty grin.  
  
"I... I...."  
  
Nemesis interrupted her reply.   
  
"It's the mother of all fuck-ups. And on   
that note, what have you been telling them   
about me, Mom?"  
  
After what had happened in the past few   
weeks, the Senshi thought that nothing could   
shock them. They were wrong.  
  
"'Mom'?" Mercury squeaked out.  
  
Pluto shrugged. "Arik was really cute. And   
my job got very lonely."  
  
Every single one of them (including   
Mercury) proceeded to face-fault.  
  
Nemesis looked at them. "That looks   
painful."  
  



	5. All the Small Things

You might want to read the prior chapters   
before getting into this one. Just a suggestion.   
You can find them at my homepage:   
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker   
  
or Tannim's page:   
http://home.earthlink.net/~tannim/index.html  
  
Disclaimer? What's that? Oh, that's where I   
state that none of these people belong to me,   
and I'm not doing this for money?   
  
Nah, I don't need to say that. Everybody already   
knows. It's not like people would pay to read my   
stuff, anyways. (But I DON'T own them, and I'm   
NOT doing this for money. Might as well make   
sure my butt is covered.)  
  
****************************  
  
"All the Small Things-Chapter 4"  
  
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 Fanfic  
  
By: Slacker (r_heins@yahoo.com)   
  
****************************  
  
"HE'S NEMESIS?"  
  
Pluto blinked. That yell had come   
simultaneously from almost the entire group of   
Senshi. I wonder if they practice that? "Is   
there a problem with that?"  
  
"He can't be Nemesis!" Mars shouted.  
  
"Why not? Because I'm not a girl? Or is it   
because I'm not dressed in a skirt that's a   
pedophile's wet dream and a uniform that screams   
`Hey! I'm a target!'?" Nemesis asked with an   
amused tone.  
  
"Because you're a psychopath! You just   
beat a youma to death with a hunk of pipe!" Mars   
retorted.  
  
Nemesis' eyes went cold and hard. His voice   
matched. "That thing tried to hurt my Queen. Be   
glad it died that quickly."  
  
The Senshi shivered.   
  
Nemesis continued "Besides, how am I   
different from you? You use your magic to kill   
youma, I used a piece of pipe. Different tools,   
same result."  
  
The Senshi just stared at him in horror.   
  
Nemesis turned to Pluto. "Not very   
talkative, are they?"  
  
After saying that, he turned and started   
walking towards an alley. Mars started to run   
after him to grab him. He threw a bolt of black   
energy at a streetlight and made a pool of   
shadows. As soon as his foot touched the   
shadows, his body turned into a solid black   
shape and melted into the shadow. Mars stopped   
her running. "What the hell was that?"   
  
"Shadow-walk. It's a Chaos spell." Pluto   
answered her, then turned and began to walk off.   
  
"Wait! Where are you going?" Sailor Moon   
cried.  
  
Pluto stopped and looked back over her   
shoulder as she answered. "I'm going home. I'd   
suggest you go home, as well. It's late, you   
know." Pluto smiled as she disappeared in a   
flash of crimson light.  
  
The Senshi blinked. Mars finally spoke. "My   
place, tomorrow. And I don't care that there's   
no school tomorrow, Moon! Be there!"  
  
Moon sighed and nodded.  
  
"Usual time?" Mercury asked.  
  
"Of course."  
  
**********************  
Hikawa Shrine, the next morning.  
  
Somewhere is a "Big Book of Otherwise   
Unwritten Laws." If you were to look in this   
book, you would find Law Number 13287: "No   
Senshi meeting shall run smoothly."  
  
Rei was determined to break that law. No   
matter what. So far, she had failed on every   
attempt. Mostly because of Usagi.   
  
Today was going to be different. She had a   
plan. Who cares that all of her other plans had   
failed. This one WOULD work. Or else. She told   
all the rest of the Senshi to show up ten   
minutes after the time she gave to Usagi. She   
figured that would ensure that they'd all be   
there at the same time.  
  
The plan was going perfectly. Everyone but   
Usagi was sitting in the courtyard. (And   
Setsuna, but that was expected.) Even Mamoru,   
who was close to tying Setsuna's record for no-  
shows, was there. Haruka looked angry enough to   
chew nails and spit tacks when she showed up,   
but soon calmed down with a little teasing from   
Michiru. (When Rei asked her why she was angry,   
Haruka just muttered something about a `red-  
headed harlot' and sulked. Rei decided to NOT go   
there.)  
  
After fifteen minutes with no sign, they   
concluded that Usagi was going to be even later   
than usual and went inside. There, they found   
out why they hadn't seen any sign of her.  
  
She was sitting in front of the sacred fire.   
And it looked like she had been there for a   
while.  
  
"Usagi? How long have you been here?" Rei   
asked.  
  
Usagi made a point of looking at her watch.   
"Twenty-five minutes. How long have YOU been   
here?"  
  
Twenty-five minutes? Wait, that would   
mean... "You showed up early?" Rei's voice   
was thick with disbelief.  
  
"Yes. I did." Usagi's voice was calm.  
  
Rei just stood there and blinked a few   
times. Usagi on time she might have been able to   
handle. Usagi early? Not a chance. She scrambled   
to find something in her flustered brain to say.  
  
"Why?" Ami came to Rei's rescue in her usual   
calm voice.  
  
"I decided to try to use the fire."  
  
"What?! You don't have the training!" Rei   
nearly screeched.  
  
"It worked."  
  
Everyone froze. Eventually, Rei managed to   
say something.  
  
"It...worked?" She squeaked.  
  
"Yes. I managed to get what I needed." Usagi   
said calmly.  
  
"WHAT?" Rei screamed as she grabbed Usagi's   
shoulders and began to shake her.  
  
"Information on Nemesis. And please stop   
shaking me." Usage replied, still calm. Ami   
began to get worried. Usagi was never that calm.   
Especially not when Rei was upset. They usually   
sparked each other off.  
  
"Um...Usagi? What do you mean by   
'information on Nemesis'?" Ami questioned.  
  
Usagi reached up and broke Rei's grip on her   
shoulders before turning to Ami and smiling. "I   
got evidence that Nemesis is on our side."   
  
Ami decided to ignore the way Usagi was   
acting for the moment and concentrate on what   
she had just said. "How did you get information   
on Nemesis through reading the fire? Pluto said   
that he couldn't be scryed. Or did she lie   
again?"  
  
"I didn't scry Nemesis. Pluto told the   
truth."  
  
"Then what did you scry?" Ami asked with   
puzzlement prominent on her face and in her   
voice.  
  
"I didn't scry anything." Usagi said with a   
faint smile. "I awoke more of my memories.   
Believe me, Nemesis is not a threat to me."  
  
The Senshi just stared at her for a few more   
seconds while she smiled serenely. Haruka   
finally broke the silence.   
  
"I assume you can prove this." Her voice was   
flat.  
  
"You know they say about assuming, don't   
you?" Usagi said in a teasing tone as she walked   
over to sit in front of the fire. "Pull up a   
cushion."  
  
As everyone sat down, Mamoru sitting quite   
close to Usagi, she closed her eyes and began to   
breathe deeply. After about a minute, in which   
they all held their breath, Usagi opened her   
eyes, smiled and commented "This is going to be   
unique. Try not to freak."   
  
As they puzzled over her statement, Usagi   
held out her right hand and clenched it. When   
she opened it, the Ginzuisho was in her palm,   
shining with a silver light. Then the sacred   
fire turned the same color of silver and flared   
to about three times it usual size. (Makoto   
would later remark that she just about became   
one with the back wall when the fire flared.   
Minako said something about "Neon Genesis   
Evangelion", and was ignored.)  
  
As soon as their breathing had returned to   
near-normal levels (and Makoto peeled herself   
off the wall), the Senshi started to study the   
sacred fire. Or more accurately, they studied   
the images IN the fire.   
  
"Kami-sama," Rei breathed, "Those are   
clearer than mine." Normally, disbelief or   
anger might have been present in her tone.   
However, she was so shocked that neither was   
possible. She had been trained in fire reading   
since she was a child and the best she could   
usually get out of the flame were a few hazy   
images. Usagi had no training whatsoever (other   
than watching Rei) and her images were better   
than real.   
  
"Wow." For once Minako was almost   
speechless. "That kicks grass and bakes names."   
Almost.  
  
The rest of the Senshi just sat there and   
blinked, except for Ami, who was using the   
Mercury Computer to analyze the power readings   
Usagi was giving off. What she was getting made   
her swallow hard. This is incredible! She's   
using enough power to light Tokyo, no, JAPAN for   
a week! How is she doing this? Rather than go   
insane trying to understand the readings now,   
Ami decided to just set the Computer to record   
and to watch the fire with everybody else.  
  
Inside the fire were scenes that they were   
all familiar with: the Moon Palace's gardens,   
the ballroom, and assorted scenes from around   
the Palace.  
  
"It's like a travel brochure." Haruka   
remarked sarcastically. She had a point. While   
the detail was incredible, nothing was going on.  
  
"You want to see something? Okay, I'll show   
you something." Usagi calmly announced. The view   
zoomed to the Palace Gardens. It followed a path   
until it came upon a young girl, around three to   
four years old. She had her blonde hair done in   
a distinctive and familiar style.   
  
"How cute. We're watching the ultimate home   
video." Haruka said in an insanely sweet tone.  
  
"You have no idea." Usagi said as she   
smirked. The smirk would have made Pluto react   
(she would have raised an eyebrow, at least).   
Luckily, the rest of the Senshi didn't see it.   
The fire flared again, and they all flinched.   
When they opened their eyes, no one said a word.  
  
"WOW! It's like we're there!" Minako gushed.   
(Well, almost no one.)  
  
"Minako, we ARE there." Makoto remarked. Ami   
began to frantically type on the Computer. Rei   
just sat on the ground and twitched.   
  
"Usagi, how did we get here? I thought that   
Setsuna-mama was the only one who could send   
people through time." Hotaru asked in a calm   
voice.  
  
"We're not in the past, Hotaru." Usagi   
replied calmly.  
  
"Then where are we? And what's with this   
`I'm so calm and cool' routine!" Haruka yelled.  
  
"We're looking at my memories of the Silver   
Millenium. I tried to scry Nemesis directly, but   
I couldn't, even when I used the Ginzuisho. He   
truly is impossible to scry. As for the   
`routine', I think it's a side effect of going   
through my memories. I was a lot calmer in the   
Silver Millenium, apparently. I think it'll   
pass."  
  
Makoto heard Rei mutter something under her   
breath. It sounded like "Rats!"  
  
"And if it doesn't?" Ami inquired.  
  
"My teachers will be much happier." Usagi   
said with a shrug. Everyone shared a glance.   
Usagi was beginning to freak them out. She   
snapped her fingers to gain their attention and   
pointed at Princess Serenity. They turned just   
in time to see her trip and fall to her knees.   
She held her now-skinned knee and began to cry.   
Haruka and Michiru both began to move towards   
her. They were stopped by Usagi's arm.   
  
"Don't bother. You can't help. Watch. What   
comes next is enlightening."  
  
A boy, around twelve or thirteen, walked up   
to the Princess. He was dressed in a smaller   
version of the uniform they had seen Nemesis   
wear. He crouched down as he spoke to her. "Fall   
down, Princess?"  
  
She nodded, tears in her eyes.   
  
He kissed his right index and middle   
fingers, then placed them over the scrape.   
"There! All better!"   
  
Serenity giggled as she got up. She hugged   
the boy and ran off. He watched her run as he   
stood up. He continued to keep an eye on her as   
he spoke.  
  
"Hello, my Queen."  
  
"Hello, Arin." Queen Serenity replied.  
  
"It's Nemesis when I'm in uniform. You know   
that." Nemesis told her with a half grin.  
  
"If you insist. May I ask you a question?"   
The last was said in a frosty tone.  
  
"Why didn't I catch her before she hurt   
herself?"  
  
"Precisely." Queen Serenity's voice had just   
a hint of anger in it. Nemesis turned to look   
her in the eyes when he answered.   
  
"I can't expect you to agree with me. But   
when you appointed me as your daughter's   
protector, you told me to do what was best for   
her. That was what was best for her."  
  
"Letting her hurt herself?" Disbelief echoed   
through Serenity's voice.  
  
"If I was always there to catch her before   
she fell, if I always made sure nothing happened   
to her, if I made sure that she never hurt   
herself, she would grow to expect it. She would   
grow to depend on it. A member of the Royal   
Family CANNOT grow to depend on anyone or any-  
thing! It leads to dangerous weakness. Pain is   
a necessary part of the growth process. No pain,   
no growth. It's as simple as that. Do you deny   
my reasons?" Nemesis finished in a calm tone.  
  
"I...I...guess I see your point."   
  
"But you don't like it. That's acceptable."   
Nemesis turned and walked in the same direction   
the Princess had gone. Queen Serenity began to   
walk the other way. As he walked into the shadow   
of a tree, Nemesis called out.  
  
"My Queen?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I don't know what they're talking about."  
  
"What?" Queen Serenity turned just in time   
to see Nemesis disappear into the shadow of the   
tree with a smirk.  
  
"SERENITY!!! SOMETHING MUST BE DONE ABOUT   
HIM!!!"  
  
Queen Serenity turned back to the path to   
see...a group of Senshi (minus Pluto). With   
hair that matched their fukus. She lifted her   
hands and began to massage her temples. "Arin,   
Arin, Arin, why do you bedevil me so?"  
  
The Senshi blinked as the scene began to   
fade. Soon they were back in front of the fire   
in Rei's temple. Makoto was the first one to   
speak.  
  
"That was interesting."  
  
"Quite." Ami added. "I wonder if those were   
the Elder Senshi?"  
  
Haruka was about to add something when   
Mamoru touched Usagi's shoulder, the fire flared   
again, and the world disappeared in a flash of   
silver fire.  
  
"Where are we now?" Rei asked. Everyone   
looked around. They were standing in the seat   
section of what appeared to be an empty   
coliseum. When they looked up, they saw the   
Earth above them.   
  
"Well, we're still on the Moon, at least."   
Ami answered.  
  
"Who are they?" Michiru asked, pointing at a   
group of people. Queen Serenity was immediately   
recognizable. They didn't recognize the rest of   
the group until they walked closer.   
  
"By the kamis! Is that Pluto?" Rei gasped.   
It took a few seconds for the rest of the group   
to recognize the Senshi of time. It took seeing   
the Time Staff in her hands in order to confirm   
it. The reason was her hair. They were used to   
her having waist length hair. Not...that.   
  
"Wow. That is SHORT." Usagi commented. And   
it was. Pluto's hair was cut in an EXTREME   
pageboy's cut. It couldn't have been more than   
two or three inches long.  
  
As they approached, the other two figures   
revealed themselves. One was dressed in black   
armor and a sword. He had a small black-haired   
boy with him. Mamoru gasped. Usagi turned to   
him.  
  
"Mamo-chan? What is it?"  
  
He pointed at the boy. "That's me. I   
remember this. We need to leave. Now!"  
  
"Why?" Makoto asked.  
  
"Just trust me! We must go NOW! Usagi, stop   
this!"  
  
"I can't. This is your memory. It won't stop   
until it plays through."  
  
"Usagi? Something just occurred to me. If   
that was taken from your memories, how did we   
see what happened after you ran off?" Ami asked.  
  
"I...hid in the bushes." Usagi admitted   
reluctantly.  
  
"Okay, now I have a question: Who's that?"   
Haruka asked as she pointed at the last member   
of the little group. The last member was a   
short, slender woman with black hair. She seemed   
to be extremely delicate and helpless, but there   
was something in the way she held herself that   
made Haruka want to get between her and Usagi.   
  
"That's the Queen of Saturn. One of the   
nastiest fighters ever born. She survived over   
sixty assassination attempts, usually by   
personally killing the assassin. She was   
extremely dangerous, even by Saturn's   
standards." Mamoru replied. "Can we leave now?"  
  
"Why do you want to leave so badly?" Makoto   
asked.   
  
Mamoru groaned as a group of Senshi walked   
onto the floor of the coliseum. "Too late."  
  
"What's wrong, Mamo-chan?" Usagi asked. He   
just pointed at the entrance as a young Nemesis   
walked out. He appeared to be around ten years   
old and was wearing a smaller version of the   
uniform they had seen him in before.  
  
"He's so cute when he's a kid!" Minako   
squealed.   
  
"You won't say that in a few minutes."   
Mamoru groaned with his face in his hands.  
  
"Why is that?" Rei asked, without looking   
away from Nemesis.  
  
Mamoru's reply was interrupted when Nemesis   
spoke.  
  
"Uranus! You publicly stated that I was   
incapable of protecting the Princess. I offer   
you one final chance to take those words back."  
  
"And if I don't?" The Elder Uranus was a   
tall, thin woman with long black hair, a willowy   
body, and a face that was classical in it's   
beauty. She was currently wearing a smirk on it.   
  
"I'll beat you and the rest of the Senshi   
unconscious." Nemesis stated in a quiet, sincere   
voice. He could have been discussing the weather   
by the look on his face.  
  
Uranus' smirk grew larger as she began to   
obviously fight back laughter. "Oh yes. *snort*   
I am sooooo scared. *chuckle* Please don't hurt   
me! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"   
  
Nemesis raised an eyebrow as Uranus doubled   
over in laughter. He turned to Queen Serenity.   
"My Queen? If you would say when, please?"  
  
"You will not turn from this course?" Queen   
Serenity inquired.  
  
"It's not my place to turn. Uranus is the   
one who refused to accept my ability to protect   
the Princess. All I require is for her to   
acknowledge my ability." Nemesis paused and   
looked at Uranus expectantly.  
  
"Not gonna happen." Uranus snorted, still   
chuckling a bit.   
  
"Very well. My Queen?" Nemesis continued.  
  
Serenity sighed and raised her hand. As she   
dropped it, she stated "You may begin."  
  
As soon as the words left the Queen's lips,   
Nemesis was in motion. He dashed towards Jupiter   
before anyone could react. Before she could even   
react, Jupiter received a broken nose courtesy   
of his foot. As she reached up to clutch at her   
nose, Nemesis dropped into a crouch and drove   
the heel of his right hand into the side of her   
knee, causing it to let out a loud *CRACK* and   
removing Jupiter from the fight in an effective,   
if brutal, manner. She crumpled to the ground,   
clutching at her knee and nose. Nemesis quickly   
kicked her in the side of her head and moved on.   
  
Mercury was the next to fall. A simple punch   
to the stomach followed by a head-butt was all   
that was necessary to render her unconscious. He   
quickly dashed towards his next target, Venus.  
  
Venus was ready for him. She quickly pointed   
at him and sounded her battle cry. "CRESENT   
BEAM!" Nemesis ducked and rolled under the blast   
of golden energy. His roll ended a few feet in   
front of her. He uncurled from his roll into a   
crouch, and pointed the palm of his hand at her.  
  
"Nice. Try mine." He stated with a grin.   
"CHAOS LANCE!" A beam of pure black energy shot   
out and hit Venus directly in the center of her   
chest. She was thrown back to, and through, the   
wall around the arena. And the first three rows   
of marble benches.   
  
"Now, that HAD to hurt." Nemesis managed to   
state before having to jump away from a white-  
hot blast of flame. The area where he was   
formerly crouched was turned into a bubbling   
mass of red-hot glass. He touched down a few   
feet away and turned to face Mars, who still had   
her hand outstretched from throwing the blast.   
  
"That wasn't very nice. If I didn't know   
better, I'd say you meant that blast to hit me.   
Of course, seeing how crappy the shot was, it   
must have just been a warning shot." Nemesis   
began to run towards Mars in an erratic path,   
dodging the blasts she continued to throw. "I   
mean, if you wanted to hurt me, the blast would   
have been something like...I don't know,   
maybe...THIS! CHAOS FLARE!" Nemesis slammed both   
palms to the ground in front of him. A small,   
black flame ignited in front of him and swiftly   
traveled along the ground towards Mars, gaining   
speed and size as it went. By the time she   
realized what was happening, the fire was too   
large for Mars to dodge. She braced herself for   
it to hit. The impact sent her flying twenty   
feet into the wall, smoking and visibly charred.   
  
Nemesis winced. "Hmmm, maybe that was a bit   
much. What do you two think?"  
  
Twin balls of energy answered his question.   
Neptune and Uranus had wisely decided to   
take advantage of his momentary pause. The   
energy slammed him into the wall. Nemesis shook   
his head a bit and looked up. Just in time to   
see more energy about to hit him. "Ah, SHIT!"  
  
Uranus and Neptune continued to hit him for   
several minutes. Finally they stopped when they   
couldn't even see what they were aiming at   
through all the dust. "I think that should do   
it. No one could stand up to that." Neptune   
stated calmly. They began to walk off the arena   
floor. Uranus sarcastically asked Neptune. "So,   
what was he saying about `beating'?"  
  
"I said I'd beat you unconscious."  
  
They froze as Nemesis' calm voice responded.   
They turned back just as the dust finished   
settling down, revealing a still-conscious   
Nemesis. He looked like hell. His clothing was   
in tatters, one eye was swelling shut, he was   
bleeding from a multitude of small lacerations,   
and the skin they could see was already purpling   
from bruises. He was visibly swaying as he   
stood. He turned his head, coughed up some   
blood, and continued. "That really hurt. I think   
you actually managed to do some real damage. My   
father would be impressed. I, on the other hand,   
am pissed."  
  
Nemesis stepped back into the shadows and   
sank into them. As Neptune and Uranus began to   
scan the surrounding area, he rose out of   
Neptune's shadow. "Back here, stupid."  
  
As Neptune flipped around just in time for   
Nemesis to jump and nail her nose with his knee.   
He continued the jump over her head, grabbing   
her hair as he went. He landed behind her and   
bent over at the waist, still holding her hair,   
resulting in her flying over him in an arc. She   
met the ground at a decent speed, face-first.   
Nemesis took a few short steps, lifted her up by   
her hair, swung her around, and re-introduced   
her to the ground. Then he swung her around and   
threw her into Uranus with enough force to send   
both of them to the ground. Uranus got up.   
Neptune didn't.  
  
"You little bastard. I'm gonna make you   
pay." Uranus ground out as she wiped a thin   
trickle of blood from her lip.   
  
"Bring it on, Uranus. I survived almost a   
decade on Nemesis. Compared to that, you're an   
easy win."  
  
Uranus just growled and started to gather   
energy. Nemesis smiled pleasantly and began to   
murmur under his breath. He brought his feet   
together and placed his palms together at chest   
height, then closed his eyes. Uranus raised both   
hands over her head and clenched them. She swung   
them down sharply, opened them facing towards   
Nemesis, and cried "URANUS WORLD DEVASTATION!!",   
releasing a massive ball of energy. Nemesis   
calmly stood in it's path. He opened his eyes,   
revealing them to be totally black. His voice   
was calm as he stated "Chaos Dance." As soon as   
the words left his mouth, Nemesis was wreathed   
in black flame.  
  
What followed next was brutal. Nemesis   
swatted Uranus' blast aside and charged at her   
at an astonishing speed. Uranus had just enough   
time to flinch slightly before he started his   
assault. The unmercifully barrage of punches and   
kicks slammed into her chest, head, and legs. A   
particularly hard punch sent her flying into the   
stands near the Queen.   
  
Uranus shook her head as she tried to get to   
her feet. She raised her head just in time to   
see Nemesis land in front of her and stride over   
to a marble bench. He grabbed the edge of it and   
ripped it off.   
  
"Oh, damn. This is going to hurt." Uranus   
groaned.  
  
"Not for long."   
  
Uranus was strong. Uranus was tough. Uranus   
had Neptune slammed into her at high speed, then   
had the most potent hand-to-hand attack in Chaos   
Magic used on her. It still took three solid   
blows before she finally passed out.   
  
Nemesis looked down at her and smiled. The   
black flames surrounding his body finally died   
out. He staggered a bit. "Wow. That was fun.   
Reminded me of sparring with my father."  
  
He turned and started to walk towards the   
Queen. He stopped as a low moan sounded. He   
turned in the direction of the moan. "Mars?   
She's still conscious? Amazing. Well, I can't   
have that."   
  
Nemesis picked up the bench top and broke   
off a fist-sized piece. He hefted it a few   
times, and then threw it towards the twitching   
Mars with a flick of his wrist. The chunk of   
marble slammed into the center of her forehead   
with a meaty *THWACK* and she spasmed once, then   
laid still.  
  
"Serenity? I remove my earlier objections to   
his appointment. He'd do nicely on Saturn, in   
fact. Brutally efficient, excellent fighting   
skills, and no mercy for opponents. If he wasn't   
so young, I'd take him as a consort." The Queen   
of Saturn cast a glance towards Nemesis and   
faded from sight.  
  
Nemesis continued to walk to Queen Serenity.   
He stopped in front of her, bowed, and said "My   
Queen. By your leave?"  
  
Serenity waved a hand. "You may go."  
  
"Thank you." Nemesis paused as he walked   
past Pluto. He took her right hand and kissed   
it. He grinned at her as he straightened. "You   
know, you'd look really great if you grew your   
hair out."   
  
As the scene started to fade, they could see   
Pluto touching a hand to her hair.  
  
****************  
Setsuna's house, earlier that morning.  
  
  
Ranma jerked awake with a start. He looked   
down. Boxers, check. Tank-top, check. Female?   
Check. No black clothing. No chain wrapped   
around his left forearm. Most importantly, NO   
pipe in his hands. That was one INTENSE dream!   
Worse than the earlier one.   
  
Ranma staggered out of bed and walked over   
to stand in front of the mirror on the dresser.   
He hung his head for a few seconds before   
looking at his reflection. He raised his head   
to look in the mirror. Nothing on his forehead.   
Nothing unusual about his reflection at all.   
Just the normal black hair, blue eyes, and   
pigtail. He started to turn away. Wait. Black   
hair?   
  
Ranma's gaze snapped back to his reflection.   
He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them. No   
change in his reflection. He glanced down at his   
chest. Yes. Those were breasts. He looked up at   
his bangs. Red as a fire truck. He looked at the   
mirror again. A black-haired, blue-eyed, and   
above all, MALE Ranma stared back.   
  
"What the hell?" Ranma whispered in   
confusion as he reached out his left hand to   
touch the mirror. As his hand neared the glass,   
his reflection began to...shift. His tank-top   
and boxers shifted to the same outfit Ranma had   
been wearing in his dream, black with silver   
detailing. A chain snaked its way around his   
left forearm. Ranma snatched his hand back   
quickly. His...reflection? slowly lowered it's   
hand. It smiled as a symbol seemed to burn   
itself into its forehead with a black flame. The   
symbol was an upside-down black crescent moon.  
  
"That symbol...." Ranma murmured.  
  
His reflection grinned. "Hi there. We meet   
again for the first time."  
  
Ranma gathered his scattered wits. "Who the   
hell are you? You're not my reflection."  
  
"Oh, I am. In a way. I am known as Nemesis.   
You can call me Arin. We're gonna get REAL   
close, REAL soon." As he said this, the figure   
lifted his right hand and flicked at Ranma. At   
his gesture, the mirror warped and flowed   
towards Ranma. He jumped back, but was too slow.   
The glass wrapped around him, squeezing him,   
cutting off his breath. He could see blackness   
edging his vision, and felt himself growing   
faint and falling...falling...falling....  
  
*THUD*  
*SKRIIP*  
"AAAAHHhhh...huh?" Ranko jumped to her feet.   
She looked down. A set of sheets and a blanket   
lay ripped to shreds on the floor. She had   
gotten tangled in them and fallen out of bed.   
All right. That explains THAT.  
  
She scanned the room. Nothing out of place.   
She scanned himself. Tank-top, boxers, female.   
No problem there. She warily made her way over   
to the mirror. She stood back a little ways and   
examined her reflection. Red hair, not black.   
Nothing on her forehead. Tank-top and boxers,   
not a black and silver uniform.  
  
"What the hell did I eat? Three freaky dreams   
in one night? Akane's cooking didn't even manage   
THAT! By the goddess, it's like the Twilight   
Zone has decided to rent out my skull!" Ranko   
rubbed her eyes. "And I feel like crap. It's   
like I was up all night fighting."  
  
Ranko shook her head and pulled on some   
clothes. She made her way down the hall to the   
bathroom. If she hadn't been so busy pondering   
her dreams, she would have noticed the shower   
shutting off as she neared the bathroom. If she   
hadn't been gazing at the floor, she might have   
noticed the robe hanging on one of the hooks by   
the door, or the lingerie hanging on the others.   
If she hadn't still been a bit groggy from the   
abrupt awakening, she DEFINITELY would have   
noticed the humming.  
  
Unfortunately, she WAS pondering her dreams,   
and she WAS looking at the floor, and she WAS   
still a bit groggy. Which meant she walked into   
the bathroom and looked up at just the right   
time to have almost no warning before she walked   
into a very surprised, and very naked, Setsuna   
Meiou.  
  
That would have been bad enough, but when   
Setsuna jerked from surprise, the rug on the   
floor chose just THAT moment to slip, which made   
her start to fall. Right onto Ranko, who   
reflexively caught her.   
  
Of course, everybody knows that bad luck   
runs in threes. This was proven when Ranko   
wasn't able to support Setsuna because of the   
rug's sliding and her surprise. So they fell   
down. Ranko instinctively yanked Setsuna close   
and wrapped her arms around her, holding her   
tightly so she wouldn't get hurt as Ranko took   
the brunt of the fall.  
  
Ranko's breath went out of her in a "Whoof!"   
as her back slammed into the hard tiles with   
Setsuna landing on top of her. She glanced down   
to see if Setsuna was okay. All she could see   
was skin. Lots of it. Lots of deeply tanned,   
smooth, wet, naked.... Ranko slammed her eyes   
shut and whacked the back of her head against   
the floor a few times. What the hell am I   
doing? I shouldn't be looking at Setsuna naked!   
Even if she does have a great... Ranko slammed   
the lid shut on THAT thought and riveted it   
shut.  
  
"You know, you should be glad I'm not   
Haruka." Ranko's thought were interrupted when   
Setsuna spoke.  
  
"W-w-why is that?" Ranko stammered.  
  
"Because she'd either kill you, or keep you   
on this floor for a couple of hours." Setsuna   
replied.  
  
Ranko's face scrunched up as she tried to   
figure out what Setsuna meant by the floor   
remark.   
  
"You can get up, you know." Ranko informed   
Setsuna.  
  
"No, I can't." Setsuna calmly replied.  
  
"Why not? You aren't hurt, are you?" Concern   
started to grow in Ranko's voice.  
  
"No. You just haven't let go of me yet."   
Amusement was evident in Setsuna's voice. "And   
you really shouldn't be holding on to me there,   
either. After all, we've just met."  
  
'Holding on to me there'? What's she   
talking about? Ranko checked both of her hands.   
Her right hand and arm was wrapped Setsuna's   
shoulders. Her left arm was wrapped around her   
waist with her hand holding on...to...her....  
  
Ranko snapped her hand off of Setsuna's butt   
so quickly it was a surprise she didn't leave   
friction burns.  
  
"Please get off." Ranko asked in a small   
voice as she removed her other hand, as well.  
  
Setsuna didn't reply as she stood up. Ranko   
heard a rustle of fabric as Setsuna spoke.  
  
  
"You CAN look, you know. I'm sure I don't   
have anything you haven't seen before. After   
all, we're both girls, right?"  
  
Ranko THOUGHT Setsuna's voice had a faint   
teasing tone as she asked the question. Does   
she know? She said she had ALL my school   
records. Does that mean she has all of Rankos's?   
Or all of MINE? Dammit, I wish I knew if those   
records held up! She kept her eyes tightly shut   
as she sat up and turned around. Finally, she   
decided to ignore the question for the moment   
and ask something that had been bothering her   
since the previous morning.  
  
"Um, Setsuna?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why did you give me that bucket of water to   
use on Haruka yesterday?"  
  
"Haruka was out late, after I had warned her   
that she should go to bed early. I figured she   
would need some motivation to get up that early.   
Besides, it made for some great pictures."  
  
"'It made for some great pictures.'" Ranko   
repeated in a dull tone of voice.   
  
"Yes. And it made her go all-out in fighting   
you. She would have held back, otherwise. She   
needed to be shown that you are much better than   
her. That way, she will be ready to learn from   
you, rather than just humoring you."  
  
"Oh. That makes sense. But you should have   
warned me that Michiru was with her. I had NO   
right to involve her in it. Why was she in   
Haruka's bed, anyways?"  
  
Setsuna cast a glance over at Ranko's back   
as she dried off her legs. The puzzlement in her   
voice was unmistakable in its sincerity.  
  
"I'll...explain later." Like when you've   
had remedial sex education classes. "Could you   
hand me that underwear?"  
  
"Sure." Ranko grabbed the underwear off the   
hook and passed it over her shoulder, trying NOT   
to notice how much of it was composed of lace.   
And failing.  
  
"Thank you." Setsuna took the lingerie from   
Ranko's hand. "Could you hand me the blouse and   
skirt now?"  
  
Ranko quickly did so and breathed a sigh of   
relief when Setsuna announced it was safe to   
turn around. This time, there was an   
unmistakable tone of amusement in her voice.  
  
Setsuna gathered her bathing things and   
started to walk out. She paused in the doorway   
and looked back.  
  
"Ranko?"  
  
"Hmmm?" Ranko looked at her questioningly.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
Ranko blinked. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"  
  
"You've got some pretty heavy bags under   
your eyes. Did you sleep well last night?"  
  
"No. Had some bad dreams. Don't worry about   
it. I'm fine." Ranko assured her.  
  
"All right. But, if you ever need to talk,   
I'm available." Setsuna closed the door behind   
her as she left. Ranko quickly locked it.  
  
"I'm available"? You know, I think that's   
the first time anyone's offered to hear me out.   
Weird.  
  
Ranma quickly showered, luxuriating at the   
feel of being back in his real body, however   
temporarily. He braced himself and turned the   
water back to cold. As she dressed, she grinned.   
All right, Haruka. It's almost seven o' clock.   
I've let you sleep in this morning. Time to wake   
up.  
  
Ranko opened the door and almost walked into   
a bucket. She stopped and looked at its bearer.   
Setsuna smiled as she spoke.  
  
"It's already full. And I've got a new   
camcorder I want to try out."  
  
Ranko chuckled as she took it. "Again? How   
long do you want me to use this?"  
  
"Until you don't need to anymore. I'm not   
holding my breath. Oh, and Michiru is in her   
bedroom."  
  
Ranko nodded in thanks as she walked down   
the hall. A few seconds later an outraged   
scream was heard, followed by a cheerful "THIS   
IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL!!"  
  
*********************  
Hikawa shrine  
  
The room was silent. The assembled group sat   
and stared at the now-normal flames.  
  
"By the kamis. And he's on OUR side?" Rei   
whispered, horrified.  
  
Any response was cut off by a soft sigh from   
Usagi as she collapsed into Mamoru's arms. The   
rest of the group was around the pair so fast it   
looked like they teleported.  
  
"USAGI! Are you okay?" Echoed from multiple   
throats at once. A hushed silence fell as   
everyone strained their ears to listen for a   
reply. Faintly, they could hear a sound. It   
sounded like....  
  
"Snoring?" Rei asked incredulously. "She's   
asleep? SHE'S ASLEEP!?!?"  
  
Usagi mumbled a bit at Rei's scream and   
snuggled into Mamoru's lap. A happy smile could   
be seen growing on her face as Mamoru started to   
blush nervously.  
  
"Usagiiii...." Rei started to growl.  
  
"Give it up, Rei." Luna interrupted. "Once   
she's out, nothing wakes her up. Listen to the   
person who's had to get her to school on time   
for the last several years."  
  
Makoto smiled. "I've got a way."  
  
"What is it." Rei's voice was flat.  
  
Makoto reached down and opened a previously   
unnoticed bag. She pulled out a plate with...   
  
"Muffins. Chocolate."  
  
*SNATCH* Makoto's hands were suddenly empty.   
She blinked. She looked over at Mamoru. He was   
staring at the now-revived Usagi, who was busily   
shoving muffins into her mouth.   
  
"Mmmph? Whht?" Usagi asked, spraying crumbs.  
  
"Well, she's back to normal." Haruka wryly   
noted. Rei started to rub her forehead. The   
meeting proceeded as usual from that point,   
ending with the usual Rei/Usagi fight.  
  
***********************  
Tendo Dojo  
  
It had only been two days since Ranma had   
"disappeared", and already Akane was getting   
unbearable. She had already established that   
neither Ukyo nor Shampoo had seen him. She would   
have checked with Kodachi, but no one with half   
a brain in their heads went anywhere near either   
of the Kuno's willingly. (Not that she thought   
Ranma HAD half a brain in his head, but she   
wasn't going to risk going anywhere near Kuno.)  
  
Nabiki shook her head as she heard Akane's   
door slam shut. No control whatsoever. She   
REALLY needs to work on that.  
  
She leaned back in her chair and   
contemplated her ledgers. She suddenly stood up   
and walked over to the corner of her room.   
Bending down, she lifted an unremarkable board,   
revealing a safe underneath it. She set the   
board aside and opened the safe. She re-locked   
the safe and replaced the board as soon as she   
had removed a folder. It was sloppy things such   
as that got most people. Nabiki was too careful   
to allow even a little chance to exist to screw   
her over.  
  
As she sat back in her chair, she glanced   
over the contents of the file. Given to her by a   
contact in Tomobiki that very day, it contained   
a report on Ranma's activities there.  
  
Let's see.... Caught in a rather   
compromising position with Lum, insulted several   
of the more dangerous residents, and leveled a   
good portion of the school. In just one day. I'm   
impressed. It took him a lot longer to level   
portions of Furinkan. Of course, Tomobiki High   
already had destructive nuts in place. We just   
had Kuno, who's just crazy instead of   
destructive.  
  
Nabiki smirked as she finished the report   
and put it back. He didn't even bother to   
change his name. I give him a week, tops. Even   
with my help.  
  
Downstairs, Kasumi paused in her   
preparations to cook dinner. She put down the   
frying pan and massaged the bridge of her nose.   
Kasumi was not having a good day. First, there   
was the headache she had woken up with, which   
had turned into a full-blown migraine by mid-  
morning. Then, it was made worse by having to   
listen to both her father's wailing and Akane's   
screaming about Ranma vanishing. On top of that,   
both Ukyo and Shampoo had shown up after school   
to look for Ranma, which had the usual results.   
The repairmen said that it would take at least   
two days before they had time to fix the house.   
(Kasumi wouldn't have been as upset if HER room   
hadn't been in the section of house that had   
been leveled. With her supply of Belgian   
chocolates. She'd gone four hours without a hit   
of chocolate and she was getting twitchy.) And   
to top it all of, it was THAT time of the month.  
  
All in all, Kasumi was having the one of the   
worst days in her life. (Not the worst, though.   
Nothing would ever beat the day her mother died.   
Nothing. Although the funeral came close.)  
  
Then it got worse. Much worse. Worse being   
Akane coming in, with THAT look in her eyes. The   
"Damn it! I can be domestic, too!" look. The   
look that always heralded Kasumi having to   
basically rebuild and restock her kitchen from   
the ground up. (Including pots, pans,   
appliances, and the tiles on the floor.)  
  
"Hi, Kasumi! I thought I'd give every one a   
surprise tonight and cook dinner!" Akane   
announced in the voice of someone who just   
didn't understand why biohazard and haz-mat   
teams were on the family's speed-dial.  
  
"Oh, you'll give them a surprise, all   
right." Kasumi muttered.  
  
"What was that, Kasumi? I couldn't hear   
you."  
  
"N-nothing!" Kasumi cheerfully answered. If   
Akane had bothered to look, she would have   
noticed that Kasumi's smile seemed a bit forced.  
  
Akane, however, was too busy getting out her   
ingredients. (Violating a MAJOR rule among   
cooks: NEVER, EVER use another cook's kitchen   
without permission. People have been maimed for   
doing it.)  
  
Kasumi twitched with every new ingredient   
Akane pulled out. The vinegar wasn't so bad. The   
wasabi wasn't unexpected, either. The cleanser   
was frequently used in her cooking, too. The rat   
poison was new, though.   
  
How can she miss the "WARNING: POISON!"   
labels? Kasumi thought incredulously.   
  
"Anyways, Kasumi, why don't you leave? That   
way you can be surprised by the food! Don't you   
think it's a great idea for me to cook tonight?   
I know that everyone will just love it! I've got   
this new recipe I found today! Of course, it was   
a bit bland, so I made a few changes."   
  
Akane continued to talk, but Kasumi tuned   
her out. Akane reached over to the chopping   
block and pulled out the largest knife there.   
THAT snapped her to attention. Kasumi was proud   
of her knives. She polished them. She balanced   
them. She sharpened them by hand. Her knives   
could cut the electrons from an atom. They were   
the one thing that she treasured above all else.   
They were a gift from her mother, you see. The   
last thing she gave to Kasumi before she died,   
to be precise.  
  
Having Akane start to work her (black) magic   
with one of HER knives was just too much for   
Kasumi to take on top of everything else that   
had happened. She grabbed the knife out of   
Akane's hand.  
  
"What? Kasumi? Why did you do that?"  
  
Kasumi slammed the knife point-first into   
the table between Akane's fingers.  
  
"No, Akane, I think it would be best if you   
DIDN'T make supper tonight!" She ground out in   
her sweetest voice.  
  
"W-w-w-what do you mean?" Akane stammered.  
  
"What do I mean? I mean 'Get Out Of MY   
Kitchen!' Now! Or I'll THROW you out!" Kasumi's   
voice was still in it's sweetest mode. The   
rather manic look in her eyes betrayed that,   
though.  
  
Akane slowly backed out of the kitchen, then   
whirled and ran upstairs. Kasumi collapsed into   
a chair and rested her head in her hands.   
(Remembering to put the knife away FIRST.   
Otherwise, it could have REALLY hurt.)   
  
In a few seconds, Kasumi heard footsteps   
coming towards the kitchen. She recognized them   
well before Nabiki spoke from the doorway.  
  
"So, what's this I hear about you being   
possessed again?" she drolly asked.  
  
Kasumi just whimpered. Nabiki sat down next   
to her.   
  
"Want to talk? What's wrong?" Nabiki wasn't   
exactly what you would call a social person. Or   
an open person. Or even a nice person, really.   
Most of her time was spent making money,   
counting money, or figuring out ways to keep the   
money she already had. There was one thing,   
however, that she cared about more than money:   
her family. While she might use Akane to make   
some quick cash, she wouldn't actually do   
anything to HURT her. So, when Kasumi, of all   
the people, was sitting in a pose of quiet   
despair, Nabiki got VERY concerned, VERY quick.  
  
Kasumi looked at her.   
  
"I've got a migraine. My room is totally   
destroyed. The house has huge holes all over it.   
My chocolates are gone. Akane decided she wanted   
to cook. And we're out of Midol. Do any of those   
count as 'What's wrong'?" Kasumi's voice was   
lackluster, at best.  
  
"Yeah, I'd say that they do." Midol, huh?   
Well that helps to explain it. "All right,   
Kasumi. Do you know what we're going to do?"  
  
"No, what are we going to do." Kasumi   
replied in a lifeless voice.   
  
"I'm gonna call for take-out. Then you and   
me are going to go upstairs to my room. Then,   
you're gonna get into that red dress of mine.   
Then, we're going to go and...unwind."  
  
"Your red dress? Wait, that dress is a..."  
  
"Miniskirt. Trust me. You need this."  
  
Kasumi was still weakly protesting as Nabiki   
grabbed her wrist and hauled her upstairs. She   
stopped protesting by the third club.  
  
The next morning, Nabiki groaned as she   
climbed out of bed. It felt like a jackhammer   
was pounding on her skull. She started to   
whimper as she heard Kasumi singing as she hung   
up the wash to dry.  
  
Figures that she would be one of those   
people that don't get hang-overs.  
  
****************  
Author's notes:  
  
And that's where I'll end it.   
  
"What? No cliffhanger?" you ask?   
  
That's right! As I've said before, I end   
where I feel I should. And for this chapter,   
it's right there. (Hey, if I wrote any more,   
it'd take longer to get out. Death threats are   
kinda fun to read, but they DO get a bit   
worrisome after the first fifty or so.)  
  
Now, for the important part of the Author's   
Notes: the Thank You's!  
  
First, to the pre-readers:  
  
Aaron Blomenkamp   
anchan   
Aaron Moorman   
CCMax   
E_Nebedum   
Gil F. de Noronha   
I'm Apathetic  
Lord Anthrax   
Mr. P  
'tsuki-chan   
William Dix   
Xaldaran   
  
  
Then, to some of the people who've helped me   
get some cool (Read: evil) ideas:  
  
Andrew Wilson  
Werefox  
Simkin  
Harold Ancell  
(And a lot of other people whom I can't remember   
just now.)  
  
And, of course, special thanks goes out to you,   
the person who actually bothered to read this   
far.  
  
Ja Ne!  
Slacker  
12/15/2000  
  
  
PS. 22 people remembered to floss. Thanks! (Your   
dentist thanks you, too.)  



	6. All the Small Things

I don't own `em. Takahashi and Takeuchi do.   
I ain't making money off of   
`em. Please don't waste your money suing me, as   
I am poor.  
  
Another author DOES make a brief cameo in   
here. He knows about it and doesn't care, as   
he's already gotten his revenge. That means   
neither should you. (Of course, if you can't   
spot it, don't worry about it.)  
  
If you feel this overpowering urge to slam   
your head into a wall after reading this, it   
MIGHT be because you didn't read the earlier   
chapters. You can find them @  
  
My homepage:  
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker  
  
Tannim's (absolutely wonderful!!) page:  
http://tannim.anifics.com/index.html  
  
**********  
All the Small Things-Chapter 5a  
  
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 fanfic  
  
By: Slacker (rheins@pmt.org)   
**********  
Hikawa shrine  
  
"Can we get on with this? I want to go take   
a nap." a voice announced. Surprisingly, it   
wasn't Usagi. It was Minako.  
  
A chorus of agreement echoed from around the   
room. It had been four days since their last   
meeting, and the attacks had intensified. The   
current record was four times in one night. It   
had been set last night, as a matter of fact.  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me." Ami agreed. She   
was feeling the late nights just as much as the   
rest of them, and had actually fallen asleep in   
class yesterday. She still blushed whenever she   
thought about the teacher's expression.  
  
"So what do we need to cover?" Haruka asked   
from where she was sitting with Michiru and   
Hotaru. She shifted slightly in order to let   
Hotaru make herself more comfortable. It had   
taken less than five minutes for Hotaru to fall   
asleep on her shoulder.  
  
"This is just a progress report. So far, I   
haven't found any pattern in the attacks. I   
think I've come close a few times, but then   
something happens to throw off my calculations.   
Our enemies change tactics, powers, and   
appearances almost every time they attack. Quite   
frankly, I'm stumped. The only thing that   
confuses me more than the enemy is Nemesis."  
  
Everyone groaned at the name. Nemesis had   
shown up at most of the fights, but had stayed   
to the sidelines for the majority of them. He   
usually introduced himself by insulting their   
fighting skills at the top of his voice. It was   
when he didn't immediately start with the   
insults that they worried. It meant that he was   
taking the enemy seriously.  
  
Mamoru rubbed his shoulder and winced at the   
name. Usagi noticed and hugged him with a   
concerned expression.  
  
"Still bothering you?" Ami asked.  
  
"No. Just remembering." Mamoru replied.   
Everyone nodded as they remembered just HOW he   
had hurt his shoulder.  
  
*************  
Two nights before  
  
Tuxedo Kamen crouched on the rooftop, a rose   
in his hand. Below him, the Senshi were fighting   
some sort of crab-like youma. They were slowly   
losing.   
  
Actually, this fight was going better than   
usual. They had managed to hold their own in the   
first part of the fight. It was only as the   
fight dragged on that they began to lose. They   
still didn't have the stamina to fight for much   
more than ten minutes at a time.  
  
Tuxedo Kamen tensed in preparation. He was   
just waiting for a good opportunity to provide a   
distraction in the form of one of his roses.  
  
"Hey. Pretty-boy." The voice came from   
behind him.  
  
Kamen froze. He slowly turned. Oh, crap. It   
IS him. "Nemesis."  
  
Nemesis smiled a tight little smile. It   
wasn't a happy smile by any means. "What the   
hell are you doing up here?"  
  
"I'm-"  
  
"Helping the Senshi?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"By sitting up on a roof, waiting to throw a   
piece of foliage, while the Senshi do all the   
REAL fighting?"  
  
When it was put that way, Kamen had to admit   
that it sounded really pathetic. His voice was a   
bit subdued when he answered.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You really want to help them in their   
fights?" Nemesis asked in a pleasant voice.  
  
"Of course!" Kamen's voice was indignant.  
  
"Well then, get your ass IN THE FIGHT!"  
  
Tuxedo Kamen had just enough time to flinch   
back before he felt Nemesis grab the front of   
his jacket.  
  
The Senshi stared in shock as Tuxedo Kamen   
flew over the edge of the roof and slammed into   
the back of the youma.  
  
"Hit it now, Sailor Moon!" Nemesis called in   
a sarcastic tone of voice from the edge of the   
roof. He turned and started to walk off. As he   
walked away, he looked at the rose in his hand   
and snorted. "Goddess, that boy was trained   
better than that. Guess that's the result of   
slacking off in training."  
  
He dropped the rose on the roof. His next   
step crushed the fragile blossom. He walked on,   
uncaring.  
  
*********  
  
Mamoru had come out of that little incident   
with a dislocated shoulder and large amounts of   
bruising, but little else. Ami remarked that   
Nemesis HAD to have been aiming him when he   
threw him, or else he would have probably died   
on impact.  
  
Haruka growled. Every time they met, Nemesis   
had made jokes about either "Sailor Asshole" or   
something similar.   
  
Hotaru shifted a bit in her sleep. Haruka   
instantly froze so she wouldn't wake her up.   
Hotaru had been at every one of the Senshi's   
fights. It was strange. Nemesis almost seemed   
fond of her, taking time out of each fight to   
ask how she was, what her day had been like, and   
so forth. If Haruka didn't know better, she'd   
almost suspect he cared about her. But after   
watching Nemesis refuse to fight until Usagi was   
endangered, she'd come to the conclusion that he   
didn't care about anyone but the Princess.  
  
"Well, if that's all we need to talk about,   
then I'm going to go take a nap." Usagi   
announced as she stood up and started to walk to   
the door.  
  
"What? Don't you want to hear what I have to   
say?" A voice asked from the shadowed corner   
directly behind Usagi.  
  
"AAH!" Usagi screamed as she whipped around   
and unloaded a right jab into the shadow with a   
sharp *CRACK*, then stumbled over her own feet   
and fell on her butt.  
  
Setsuna walked out of the shadows, rubbing   
around her left eye, which was already swelling   
slightly. "Nice punch, but you need to work on   
the follow-up. And you shouldn't punch someone   
who's come to give you information. It...lacks   
class."  
  
"Information?" Ami perked up. "About what?"  
  
"Not what. Who." Setsuna answered as she sat   
down at the table, rubbing the area around her   
eye. When she dropped her hand, there was no   
trace of a bruise or swelling.  
  
Everyone instantly figured out who. Haruka   
was the one who voiced the conclusion.  
  
"Nemesis."  
  
Setsuna smiled as she accepted a cup of tea   
from Rei. "Precisely."  
  
"So what about him?" Haruka drawled.  
  
"Let's start with the planet first." Setsuna   
began. "Out of ten living creatures, animal,   
plant, or otherwise, on Nemesis, nine of them   
would try to kill and eat you."  
  
"Lovely place." Michiru chimed.  
  
"You haven't heard the best part. The tenth   
just wants to kill you. You survive only by   
being a better killer than the rest of the   
planet. Nemesis survived almost a decade."  
  
"I begin to understand why he's so nasty."   
Makoto remarked.  
  
"Good. He didn't have it much better off in   
this life, either."  
  
"What do you mean?" Haruka inquired.  
  
"Do you really expect me to answer that? And   
ruin what's left of my reputation?"   
  
"No, not really." Rei dryly stated.  
  
"Good. That means you're learning." Setsuna   
smiled behind her cup. "Now, let's talk about   
Nemesis the person. Ami, give me your computer."  
  
"What? Why?" Ami asked as she clutched her   
computer to her chest.  
  
"I need it to illustrate my next point. Now,   
may I have it?"  
  
Ami hesitantly gave Setsuna the Mercury   
Computer. Setsuna immediately began to type   
slowly on the keyboard. She appeared to be   
having a hard time. Finally, she growled and   
slammed the Computer onto the table.  
  
"Forget it. I never could type on that   
thing. Stupid keyboard." Setsuna grumbled.  
  
Ami started to reach out to reclaim her   
computer. Setsuna stopped her with a single   
look, then reached over and pressed a few   
buttons.  
  
"Computer. Voice address. Voice   
authentication: Pluto." Setsuna commanded.  
  
"Voice authenticated. Hello, Pluto." The   
Computer responded in a rich tenor voice.  
  
"It has a voice address system?" Ami   
whispered. A twitch started by her left eye. "It   
has a voice address system. IT HAS A VOICE   
ADDRESS SYSTEM!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME   
THAT?!?!"   
  
"You didn't ask." Setsuna calmly answered.  
  
Makoto had to hold Ami back from trying to   
choke Setsuna, who looked at Ami and blinked.  
  
"How...quaint. You should probably calm   
down, Ami. I don't think your face is supposed   
to be that color of purple." Setsuna noted.   
  
When Ami showed no indication of halting her   
quest to massage Setsuna's throat, the Senshi of   
Time reached over and tapped the back of her   
outstretched hand. Ami promptly collapsed into   
Makoto's arms.  
  
"What'd you do?!" Makoto demanded.  
  
"Pressure point. It'll wear off soon."   
Setsuna informed her, then turned back to the   
Computer. "You might want to cut back her   
caffeine intake, by the way."  
  
"I've never heard of a pressure point on   
the hand that would do that." Ami mumbled from   
Makoto's lap.  
  
"There isn't one. There is one on the   
neck, though. The hand was to distract you."   
Setsuna informed her.  
  
Makoto quickly glanced at Ami's neck. Sure   
enough, there was a small red mark just above   
her collarbone. Wow. I didn't even see her   
move!  
  
"Computer, open the Nemesis files. Play   
files 335 and 629." Setsuna commanded.  
  
"Unable to comply. Unauthorized personnel   
present." The Computer replied.  
  
"What?" Setsuna blinked. Then she shook her   
head. "Computer, full identifying scan of all   
present personnel."  
  
"Complying." The Computer sat quietly for a   
few seconds.  
  
"Setsuna, what's it doing?" Usagi asked.  
  
"It's running a full scan on all of us. DNA,   
spiritual aura, magical aura, synapse map, about   
fifty other scans that can't be explained unless   
you've got advanced degrees in physics, biology,   
and magical theory. You've changed a bit from   
the Silver Millenium, both physically and   
mentally. It has to re-catalogue you." She   
replied.  
  
"Scan complete. Present: Sailors Mercury,   
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune,   
Pluto, Princess Serenity, and Prince Endymion.   
Errors detected. Queen Serenity: Deceased. King   
Endymion: Deceased. Updating databanks. The   
Queen is dead. Long live the Queen. Query:   
Sailor Saturn is active. Do you wish to activate   
the Silence Protocols?" The Computer finished.  
  
"No. Delete the Silence Protocols. They are   
unnecessary." Setsuna's voice was firm.  
  
"Setsuna, what are the Silence Protocols?"   
Michiru asked, not noticing that Hotaru was   
waking up.  
  
Setsuna turned to look at her. "What do you   
think they are with a name like that? They're a   
set of protocols designed to kill Sailor Saturn.   
They were deemed necessary. Most of them   
involved the destruction of one or more of the   
planets."  
  
"What would make something like that   
necessary?" Ami asked in a horrified voice.  
  
"The end of all that is. The Silence.   
Several prophecies spoke of it, and the fact   
that Saturn is the only one who could bring it.   
So, steps were taken, just in case." Setsuna's   
voice was matter-of-fact. "We weren't going to   
allow the Silence to happen. To that end, a   
series of scenarios were worked out. Thankfully,   
they were never necessary."  
  
"They hated me that much?" Hotaru whispered.  
  
Setsuna turned to look at her. Her voice   
softened as she answered. "No, Hotaru. They were   
scared of what they thought you represented."   
She seemed to consider something for a few   
seconds, then nodded.  
  
"Computer, open Council log #334519.   
Immediately." Setsuna commanded.  
  
"Yes, Pluto. Council log #334519 opening."   
The Computer responded as the air above it began   
to glow. A scene quickly appeared hovering over   
the table.  
  
A group of people were sitting around a   
large marble table. Setsuna started to name   
them.  
  
"Aria, Queen of Mercury." She was a small   
woman with brown hair and eyes wearing a light   
blue robe. She had the look of a scholar.  
  
"Taris, Queen of Venus." She was a blonde   
woman, with a figure that was...lush. (And   
wearing a dress that looked to be painted on.)  
  
"Endymion, King of Earth." He was dressed in   
the same armor that Mamoru occasionally used.   
His resemblance to his son was unmistakable.  
  
"I don't really need to introduce Queen   
Serenity, do I?" Serenity was wearing her usual   
white gown, and had a slightly troubled cast to   
her expression.  
  
"Keira, Queen of Mars." She had long black   
hair and violet eyes, and was wearing a form-  
fitting red gown.  
  
"Zeus, King of Jupiter. It's a hereditary   
name, by the way." He was a huge man with a head   
of fiery red hair and a beard to match. He was   
dressed in a battered set of forest green plate   
armor.  
  
"Vessa, Queen of Saturn." She looked the   
same as the last time they had seen her.  
  
"Haran, King of Uranus." He was a slim   
blonde man with light green eyes, and was   
wearing a formal tunic.  
  
"Lera, Queen of Neptune." She was a medium-  
sized woman with almost electric-blue eyes and   
hair, wearing an elegant green gown.  
  
"What? No ruler for Pluto?" Haruka   
interjected.  
  
Setsuna looked at her. "Of course not. The   
only one allowed on Pluto was myself. If anyone   
else tried to land, they were killed. No chances   
were taken in regards to the Time Gate."  
  
"Computer, begin play." Setsuna commanded.  
  
"Complying." As the Computer started to   
play, everyone turned to watch the recording.  
  
"So this is all we've got? By the Gods, some   
of these are ridiculous!" Jupiter demanded,   
waving a sheaf of papers in the air.  
  
"You requested that I develop a series of   
scenarios, Zeus. You never specified what type."   
Mercury responded in a calm voice.  
  
"Aria, you should have used SOME common   
sense! I mean, look at them! Most of those plans   
involve the willful destruction of at least one   
planet!" Uranus interjected.   
  
"Haran, those ARE the ones where I used   
common sense. The best estimates we have on   
Saturn's power put her at well ABOVE Nemesis!"   
Mercury's voice was insistent.  
  
"She's that powerful?" Neptune asked in a   
soft voice.  
  
"Lera, Nemesis has stated that Saturn has a   
greater power potential than he does. I believe   
him. These are the only plans that might stand a   
chance at stopping her should she go rogue."   
Mercury informed her.  
  
"Well, I'll just have to make sure she   
doesn't go rogue, then. Won't I?" A voice   
commented from the shadows behind Serenity.   
Everyone at the table stiffened, except for   
Serenity.  
  
"I was wondering how long you'd just stand   
there." Serenity's voice was calm.  
  
Nemesis smiled as he moved out of the   
shadows. He walked over to the table and   
snatched the papers that Jupiter was holding out   
of his hands and started to read them.  
  
"Setsuna, just how old is Nemesis? He's a   
lot bigger than the last time we saw him!" Usagi   
asked.   
  
"He's between twenty-two and twenty-five in   
this recording. And when did you see him   
before?" Setsuna replied.  
  
"He's got to be over seven feet tall!"   
Minako exclaimed.  
  
"Actually, he's six feet, five inches tall,   
weighs a little over four hundred and fifty   
pounds, can bench-press over three tons, and can   
run at just a little bit under Mach 1. Any other   
relevant information you want to know?" Setsuna   
responded.  
  
"He looks taller. And he shouldn't weigh   
that much, not at that height." Ami seemed   
puzzled.  
  
"His bones and muscles are a lot denser than   
an average persons. Side-effect of growing up on   
Nemesis. At least, that was the theory." Setsuna   
explained impatiently.  
  
Haruka opened her mouth to ask another   
question, but was interrupted by the recording.   
Nemesis was laughing his head off.  
  
"BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" *snort*   
*snicker* "What the hell were you smoking when   
you came up with some of these?" Nemesis asked   
the Queen of Mercury. "And why aren't you   
sharing?"  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" she   
responded calmly.  
  
"That means that these plans are a joke.   
Mostly." Nemesis began to go through the stack.  
  
"Pathetic." Tossed to the floor. "Moronic."   
Toss. "Yeah, right." Toss. "Don't make me   
laugh." Toss. "This doesn't even deserve a   
comment." Crumpled and bounced off of Jupiter's   
head. "This one might do. If she was asleep,   
crippled, and deaf."  
  
As Nemesis continued, the stack of discards   
grew larger. A few were placed on the table, and   
dubbed "Barely adequate. *IF* you got lucky."  
  
As he neared the bottom of the stack, more   
were placed on the table. As he read the last   
paper, he stopped and stared at it.  
  
"By the gods." His whispered comment was   
horrified. "She's a six year-old girl! And you   
suggest...THIS?! I think I'm gonna throw up."  
  
Nemesis clenched his fist, and the paper   
burst into flame. He glared around the table.   
  
"I'm only going to say this once. Saturn is   
under my protection. You try to hurt her and I   
WILL take any steps necessary. The moment any of   
these plans are set into motion, I WILL know.   
And I...will...KILL...*YOU*! She has the same   
protection as the Princess and the Younger   
Senshi. And you all know how I deal with threats   
to them, don't you?" His voice was deadly calm.  
  
"Are you threatening us?" Neptune's voice   
was outraged.  
  
"I don't make threats. Ever. I make   
promises." Nemesis turned to leave. As he opened   
the door, he called over his shoulder "Oh, by   
the way, Vessa? How's Mimas these days?"  
  
The Queen of Saturn stiffened. Nemesis'   
laughter could be heard as the recording   
stopped.  
  
"Nemesis took, and takes, his   
responsibilities VERY seriously. Once he took up   
a job, he never quit it. Hurting, or trying to   
hurt someone under his protection was a quick   
way to commit suicide." Setsuna's voice was   
firm. "Computer, play recording 629."  
  
"Complying."  
  
They saw a well-lit corridor, with rich   
tapestries and tasteful statues lining the   
walls.  
  
A shadow detached itself and crept along the   
hallway. It regularly paused and checked for   
threats. Finding none, it slowly made its way   
to a door.   
  
Easing open the door, the shadow crept   
towards its target: the seven-year-old Princess   
Serenity. Slowly drawing out a thin knife, the   
assassin prepared to strike.   
  
"Easiest money I've ever made." He   
whispered.  
  
"I doubt that."  
  
The shadow froze as the voice spoke from   
directly above it. It looked up just as a ball   
of light flared into existence. The assassin was   
around six feet, two inches tall, with short   
brown hair and blue eyes. The hand holding the   
ball of light belonged to Sailor Nemesis. The   
assassin summed up his feelings with a simple   
and heartfelt "Oh, SHIT!"  
  
"Templar, right?" Nemesis said with a nasty   
smile. A whimper was his response. "Good.   
Let's...talk."  
  
Templar took off running. Nemesis jumped   
down from his mid-air perch and followed. A   
short while later, a scream sounded, only to be   
cut off by a wet gurgle.   
  
Nemesis walked into Princess Serenity's   
room, wiping off his hands and talking to   
himself as he came. "Well, that was messy. Guy   
was surprisingly good. I think he broke some   
ribs."  
  
He walked over to the princess and stroked   
her cheek after adjusting her blankets. He   
smiled and floated back up by the ceiling.  
  
The recording ended just as he turned off   
the light spell.  
  
"Nemesis would give people just enough rope   
to hang themselves with. Then he'd...take   
steps. We never did find that man." Setsuna's   
voice was quiet. "He had a sense of justice that   
was very...focused. There were only two things   
he held as important: the safety of his wards   
and doing his duty. He'd ignore any law,   
statute, or decree that prevented him from doing   
that. It's that simple."  
  
The Senshi all stopped to think about that   
for a second.  
  
"Playing record #335." The Computer   
announced.  
  
The recording appeared to be of the throne   
room of Queen Serenity. (Born out by the fact   
that she was sitting in the throne at one end.)   
A man dressed in a red robe was addressing her.   
He was extremely angry, as evidenced by his   
bright red face and the fact that he was   
screaming at the Queen. The Senshi's eyes popped   
at his language.  
  
"One of the Ambassadors from Mars. He's   
upset over a decision Serenity made involving   
the Younger Mars." Setsuna informed them.  
  
"What decision would cause that kind of an   
outburst?" Rei asked.  
  
"She decided to let Nemesis train the   
Younger Senshi. The Queen of Mars refused to let   
you 'suffer under that psycho'. So Nemesis   
kidnapped you. Serenity decreed that the   
Martians were not to attempt to find you."  
  
"Nemesis trained us?" Ami asked.  
  
"Yes. He trained all of you. And he taught   
me a few new tricks, too. Mostly by using them   
on me." Setsuna replied, just as the man wound   
down his diatribe.  
  
"Thank you, Ambassador, for that...colorful   
speech. Nevertheless, my decision remains   
unchanged. I will not entertain any more   
petitions to change it. Do you understand?"   
Serenity's voice was sharp. Her eyes promised   
pain if he answered 'No'.  
  
The man gulped and nodded. He turned and   
started to walk out of the room. As he walked he   
whistled a little tune. Rei paled as she heard   
it.  
  
"Something wrong, Rei?" Usagi asked.   
  
"That was NOT a nice thing he said." She   
replied.  
  
"What do you mean? He just whistled." Haruka   
protested.  
  
"Their language basically WAS whistling. It   
was really beautiful to listen to in large   
groups. The choirs were incredible." Setsuna   
explained.  
  
A chorus of understanding went around the   
room at her explanation.  
  
The Ambassador stomped out of the room,   
whistling the entire time. The view followed him   
as he turned right and stomped down the hallway   
outside the room. He was just about to turn a   
corner when an arm shot out of the shadows   
behind a column and grabbed the front of his   
robe. Nemesis emerged from the shadow and smiled   
a tight smile at him.  
  
"Can I talk to you for a second?" The   
Ambassador started to stammer something that   
sounded like a refusal. Nemesis nodded. "That's   
nice. Let's go in there."   
  
Nemesis dragged him into a room and shut the   
door behind him. He continued to smile as he   
blocked the door with a rather large divan.   
Nemesis turned around.   
  
"Let's make this quick. There's just a few   
things we need to cover. First, you've got a   
fairly large dagger under your robe. You know   
the rules against that. Second, it's an   
ENCHANTED dagger! That just makes it worse.   
Third, to take care of your main complaint, your   
princess is MUCH safer under my protection than   
anywhere else in this system. Fourth, Serenity   
doesn't know the nastier parts of Martian. I do.   
If you even think about calling her that again,   
they will NEVER find your body. Understand?"   
Nemesis could have been discussing the weather   
for the emotion he showed in his voice.  
  
The man gulped and nodded.  
  
"Good. Now listen closely: I swear to you,   
on my oath to Serenity, that no lasting harm   
shall be done to your Princess. In fact, by the   
time I'm done with her, she'll be in better   
health than you can imagine." Nemesis paused for   
a few seconds, and seemed to consider something.  
  
"Hmmm, I've got an idea. You go to Keira and   
tell her what I just told you. If she wants to   
argue, have HER come and complain about it to me   
personally. All right?"  
  
The Ambassador just stared at him.  
  
"I'll take your silence to mean yes."   
Nemesis commented. He turned and started to walk   
into a shadow.  
  
"Wait!" But the Ambassador's cry came too   
late. Nemesis had already vanished.  
  
"Great. Now how am I supposed to get out of   
here?" The man muttered, as he kicked the divan   
still blocking the door.  
  
Rei was snickering as the recording ended.  
  
"I remember that guy. He was such a...." She   
searched for a polite way to say it.  
  
"Pompous ass?" Setsuna suggested.  
  
"Precisely." Rei said crisply.  
  
"I remember him. I keep seeing him in this   
hat. You know what I mean?" Haruka asked.  
  
"Yeah! And the squid!" Rei excitedly   
responded.  
  
"And that thing! What was with that thing?   
What was it?" Haruka interjected.  
  
"I don't know! Hey, remember the SHOES?" Rei   
asked. Both of them broke down laughing. After a   
few seconds, Haruka stopped snickering, and   
looked at the puzzled expressions of the rest of   
the group.  
  
"Don't ask. One of those 'You had to have   
been there' things." She explained.  
  
"Riiiight." Michiru drawled.  
  
"Anyways, onto the next recording." Setsuna   
said, sobering up everyone nearly instantly. "This  
one was taken a few months after the one we just   
watched."  
  
The recording started with a familiar face   
screaming.  
  
"Damn it! Give me a status report!" It was   
the Queen of Saturn. She was sitting in a large,   
functional-looking chair in what appeared to be   
a command center of some kind.  
  
"Same as the last, my Queen. We STILL can't   
get anyone within range to monitor them, and our   
ships with ground-pounder capabilities are still   
two days out. King Zeus has informed us that his   
forces are busy dealing with a few unpleasant   
surprises the rebels left on Jupiter when they   
escaped custody." An aide informed her.  
  
"So we're just going to sit here and wait?!   
After those bastards invaded Mimas, killed every   
single person at the terra-forming station, and   
blatantly dared us to try to stop them? You   
expect me to just sit here and wait for TWO   
FUCKING DAYS?!" The Queen screamed.  
  
"No. I expect you to sit down, shut up, and   
not do a damn thing." A voice announced from   
behind her. Everyone whirled around. Nemesis was   
standing there, with a large group of young   
children. They were easily recognizable.  
  
"That's us when we were kids." Ami stated   
the obvious.  
  
"Of course. Who else would look exactly like   
you when you were that age?" Setsuna replied   
matter-of-factly.  
  
"How old are we here? And where's Makoto?"   
Ami asked.  
  
"You range from eight to twelve years old   
here. And, if you'd be quiet for a few seconds,   
you'd find out where Makoto is." Setsuna replied   
with a bit of a bite in her tone.  
  
Meanwhile, the recording continued with the   
Queen of Saturn standing and addressing Nemesis.  
  
"Why are you here? This is not in your   
jurisdiction. This is a matter between me, Zeus,   
and those rebels. Your assistance is neither   
needed or desired." Her voice was just a little   
warmer than liquid nitrogen.  
  
Nemesis glanced over at her as he answered.   
"Serenity granted me permission to train the   
Younger Senshi."  
  
"So? How does that relate to this matter?"   
She demanded.  
  
Nemesis pointed at the image of Mimas   
displayed on the viewscreen. "Jupiter is down   
there. She's the second to last of the Youngers.   
I WILL get her. I don't care who or what I have   
to go through."  
  
"Oh, really." the Queen of Saturn arched an   
eyebrow. She pointed at the children with him.   
"And do you intend to take them with you?"  
  
Nemesis snorted. "Of course not. They'll   
stay here. Mercury will be in charge. You can   
call her Ice. It's her street name." He patted   
the blue-haired girl's head fondly.  
  
"And what can she do? She's what? Twelve, at   
the most?" An aide scoffed as he reached over to   
poke her.  
  
"Ice is just a bit over twelve, as near as   
we can figure. As for what she can do? Ice, drop   
him. Softly." Nemesis calmly commanded.  
  
She responded with the speed of a striking   
cobra. Two fingers slammed into the man's leg,   
which collapsed underneath him. He pitched   
forward, and his throat received the same two   
fingers. She grabbed his collar with her left   
hand and put the knife that had appeared in her   
right hand to his now-abused throat. Her calm,   
reserved expression hadn't changed in the least   
bit.  
  
"That's what she can do. Ice is quite   
possibly the most intelligent person I've ever   
met. And one of the most resilient. She's been   
on her own in the Mercurian slums since she was   
five. You'll notice she's still in good   
condition, despite living in that hellish place   
for seven years. Trust me, she'll be able to   
handle anything." His voice was full of calm   
confidence.  
  
The Queen of Saturn nodded her head in   
acceptance. "All right. Will you grant me a   
small favor?"  
  
"Depends on what it is."  
  
"Carry a battle recorder. I've always wanted   
to see you fight with the kid gloves off."   
  
"Can't. The Chaos won't allow them to work,   
remember?" Nemesis' voice was faintly mocking.  
  
"It's Mercurian." She quickly replied.  
  
"Man, you're ready for anything, aren't   
you?" Nemesis shook his head. "Fine. I'll grab   
it before I go down."  
  
Ice broke down laughing. Nemesis shot her an   
amused glance.  
  
"Pervert." He commented as he left the command   
center. Ice just grinned.  
  
A few minutes later, a voice spoke up over   
the intercom. It sounded a bit shocked.  
  
"My Queen? Nemesis just left. He...um,   
well...walkedouttheairlock?" the voice finished   
in a rush.  
  
"Walked out the airlock?" the Queen arched   
an eyebrow. "Well, I suppose that's ONE way to   
avoid them detecting him teleporting down to the   
planet's surface."  
  
"HOLY GODS! Multiple jump signatures to   
port!" A man screamed from his station.  
  
"What?! Show them!" The command was snapped   
out harshly. "Who the hell is crazy enough to   
warp in this close to Saturn?"  
  
The viewscreen shifted sharply just in time   
to see a silver aura fade from around three   
large, graceful ships. The one in the middle was   
huge, easily twice the size of the other two   
combined.  
  
"That's the 'Serenity Ascendant.' Why would   
the Queen's flagship be here?" Saturn muttered   
under her breath. Unnoticed by all, the Younger   
Senshi subtly shifted to hide one of their   
members in the center of the group.  
  
Queen Serenity's image flashed onto the   
viewscreen. She had a look of barely-controlled   
rage on her face, and pure ice in her eyes.  
  
"Where is he?" she hissed.  
  
"Where is WHO?" Saturn inquired.  
  
"Nemesis. Where is that bastard." Came the   
snarled reply.  
  
"He just went down to Mimas' surface. We   
could try to get in contact with him-" Serenity   
cut her off.  
  
"Where are the children he had with him?"   
Her voice was a bit frenzied.  
  
"They're right over there." Saturn pointed   
towards the children. "Why are you so...upset?"  
  
"Hello, Mother!" piped a voice from the   
middle of the children. The rest of them   
groaned.  
  
'Mother'? Wait, that means...Please let me   
be wrong. Please. "Princess Serenity?"   
  
"Hiiiiiii!" The voice was insanely cheerful,   
despite the attempts to quiet it.  
  
"Oh, damn. What is SHE doing here?" Saturn   
muttered under her breath.  
  
"Arin said we were going on a trip! I'm   
having lots of fun! First we went to Mercury,   
then to Venus, and then to-MMMPH!" Her voice was   
cut off as a hand covered her mouth. The hand   
belonged to a younger version of Rei, who glared   
at the Princess and muttered something about   
'giving her SUCH a pinch.'  
  
Saturn turned back to Serenity. "My Queen, I   
will ferry the Princess over to your flagship."  
  
"No, you won't. Nemesis told me to watch   
over the rest of the Youngers, protect the   
Princess, and wait here. The Princess leaving   
invalidates those instructions. You will not be   
moving her until he returns and instructs me in   
a different course of action." Ice's voice was   
flat. She spoke with the calm assurance of one   
who knew that what she stated was a fact.  
  
"And how will you prevent me, child?" Saturn   
waved one of her personal guards forward. "Get   
the Princess and take her back to Serenity."  
  
The man started towards the group of   
children, cracking his knuckles as he went. Ice   
moved to meet him. She punched out incredibly   
fast, only to have her hand caught by one of his   
hands, as his other hand grabbed the back of her   
shirt and lifted her off her feet.  
  
"What will you do now, little girl?" the man   
rumbled in a deep voice.  
  
"This." she reached up and grabbed his   
wrist. She squeezed a pressure point and his   
hand spasmed open. She dropped to the ground and   
slapped her open hand against his chest.   
  
"Cold snap!"   
  
He was instantly encased in a thin, super-  
hard, super-cold layer of ice.  
  
Ice turned and started to walk back to the   
group. She looked over her shoulder as she   
announced "As I already said, you will not move   
her. You have two minutes to defrost him before   
permanent damage is done."  
  
Saturn gestured to an aide. "Get him to the   
infirmary."  
  
She started to walk towards Ice, who dropped   
into a loose fighting stance, with a knife that   
looked to be made of ice appearing in her right   
hand. Saturn opened her mouth to speak and was   
prevented when a beeping started.  
  
"My Queen?" an aide hesitantly spoke up.   
"That's the tactical channel. It's from the   
planet. It's Nemesis. Audio only."  
  
"Put him on." The Queen commanded.  
  
There was a brief crackle, then Nemesis'   
voice came through.  
  
"I've got her. Little minx bit me! I like   
her already." They could hear the amusement in   
his voice.  
  
"Serenity is here, Nemesis. Seems a bit   
angry. Something concerning her daughter?"   
Saturn's voice was cheerful.  
  
"She is? Well...damn. I don't suppose you   
could lie to her and tell her I'm not here?" His   
voice was hopeful.  
  
"She's listening to this conversation."   
Saturn replied, a smirk on her face. Nemesis was   
silent for a few seconds.  
  
"Oh. Damn, again. Hi, Serenity. Lovely   
weather, isn't it?" His voice was carefree.  
  
"Oh, yes. Very lovely. I'm going to have you   
drawn and quartered, you know." Serenity's voice   
was pleasant.  
  
"Why would you want to do that?" Nemesis   
asked in a puzzled tone of voice.  
  
"You really need to ask?"   
  
"No, not really." Nemesis chuckled. "But   
before you do that, you might want to back a bit   
farther away from Mimas."  
  
"What? Back away from Mimas? Why?" Saturn   
inquired.  
  
"Well, I'm out-numbered, and I've got a kid   
in my arms. I can't fight at my usual level, or   
the kid will get hurt. So, I'm going to Absolve   
these bastards." Nemesis' voice was grim.  
  
Serenity turned white. "Absolve? You're   
going to cast Absolution?" she whispered in a   
trembling voice. She glanced off-screen and   
commanded "Get us back, now!"  
  
"Absolution? What kind of a spell name is   
'Absolution'?" Saturn asked in a moderately   
amused tone.  
  
"You have my daughter on your vessel. You   
also have the Younger Senshi, several of whom   
are the only heirs of their planets. Move back.   
NOW." Serenity's voice was flat.  
  
"All right, all right. Pull back. What's the   
worst that can happen?" Saturn rhetorically   
asked.  
  
Over the speakers, they could hear Nemesis   
begin to talk.   
  
"You psychotic little morons have   
slaughtered 800 innocent men, women, and   
children. You've destroyed nearly priceless   
equipment, ruined 200 years of terraforming   
efforts, and, if I remember the broadcast   
correctly, called Queen Serenity a 'frigid,   
over-controlling bitch.' I resent that last bit.   
She's not frigid. I'm afraid you all have to die   
now." He paused, then continued. "In the next   
life, I hope you can find...ABSOLUTION!!"  
  
It started small. Just a tiny point of light   
on the surface. Nothing major, certainly nothing   
to worry about. Then it grew rapidly in an orgy   
of destruction. Tendrils of actinic fury lanced   
out and ripped huge chunks of the moon's surface   
out before they were re-absorbed into the main   
part of the quickly-formed dome. They could see   
atmosphere start to boil off as the dome flared   
and pulsed with power. The huge sphere of light   
rippled out to cover a third of the moon's   
surface, peeling back the solid rock like a   
tomato hit by a sandblaster. Then, it just   
vanished, leaving a huge crater, a desolate   
surface, and a now-dead world. The crater wasn't   
even smoking.  
  
"Holy...." the Queen of Saturn trailed off   
as words failed her. Behind her, there were a   
few thuds as legs gave out.  
  
Ice was more succinct in her response.   
"Fuuuuuuck meeeeeee."  
  
"Hmmm, maybe I overdid it a bit. Still, it's   
kind of pleasing in a purely aesthetic sort of   
way, don't you think?"   
  
Everyone whirled at Nemesis' voice. He was   
standing in a shadow in a far corner of the   
bridge, holding a small form in his arms. A   
small amount of brown hair could be seen flowing   
over one of his arms, offset by a pair of feet   
hanging over the other.  
  
"That's her?" Ice asked, motioning towards   
his burden.  
  
"Yup. Ice, meet Lana. She's the daughter of   
Jovian Supreme Commander Knight. She's your   
responsibility now." Nemesis walked over and   
placed the still form in her arms. She stirred   
as she was moved. Green eyes blinked open and   
met blue ones. Ice smiled.  
  
"Hi. I'm Ice. I'm gonna take real GOOD care   
of you." Her voice sounded very pleased in some   
obscure way. She was smiling widely as the   
recording ended.  
  
"Well, THAT was interesting." Haruka   
remarked dryly. "I just feel incredibly re-  
assured about him, now."  
  
Ami frowned slightly. There had been   
something about the way that her past self had   
grinned that disturbed her. It reminded her of   
Haruka, for some weird reason.  
  
"You didn't see Nemesis when he was in a bad   
mood. I once watched him back down the leader of   
the Royal Guard with one look." Setsuna informed   
them. "Of course, him in a good mood had...other   
potential problems."  
  
"Such as what? What could be worse than what   
we just saw?" Rei demanded incredulously.  
  
Setsuna pondered for a second, then nodded   
to herself. "He played practical jokes."  
  
"How could that be worse?" Hotaru asked.  
  
"You're about to find out." Setsuna replied,   
snapping her fingers as she spoke. "The baths."  
  
Everything went black.  
  
********************  
The Silver Millenium  
  
Sailor Pluto sighed as she shed her uniform   
with a thought and stepped into the hot waters   
of the bath. She leaned back against the rim and   
smiled as she felt her muscles start to loosen   
up.  
  
She had been running especially hard lately.   
Nemesis appeared to be deliberately trying to   
annoy her. If it wasn't sneaking the Princess   
down to Earth to meet with Prince Endymion, it   
was encouraging the Younger Senshi to raise   
havoc among the Royal court.   
  
She KNEW it was a mistake to let him train   
them. She couldn't fault his efficiency, they   
were EXTREMELY good at using their powers.   
However, they also showed some of his...less   
pleasant attitudes, as well. His rather harsh   
sense of honor, his absolute refusal to accept   
authority, his contempt for anyone who failed to   
live up to his standards, and, of course, his   
EXTREMELY odd sense of humor.  
  
But, she had to admit, it was rather amusing   
to watch the Younger Senshi go out to town. They   
partied with a flair that was almost unbeatable.   
  
They also applied the same flair to their   
fighting. "Don't just win, win with STYLE."   
seemed to be their motto in a fight. Even the   
Princess was able to hold her own (against the   
Army's hand to hand instructors no less), at   
least temporarily.  
  
Pluto chuckled as she remembered the   
expression on the instructor's face as the   
Princess ended her first session by throwing him   
against the far wall, then tripped and fell on   
her face as she walked out of the sparring ring.  
  
As she grabbed some soap for her hair, she   
considered the Younger Senshi as a whole. All of   
the Inners were very good at their job of   
bodyguards, and even worked well with the   
Outers, something that hadn't happened in quite   
a long time. She was certain that Uranus and   
Neptune were lovers, and it was possible they   
had a soul-bond. If they did, it was time for a   
party. Soul-bonding was extremely rare and   
whenever one was discovered, the Queen always   
threw a massive party.  
  
She paused in lathering her hair as a   
thought occurred to her. Why am I growing my   
hair out? It's a pain to take care of. An image   
of a serious-looking boy suggesting she grow out   
her hair briefly flashed briefly across her   
mind, but she banished it quickly.  
  
He has nothing to do with it. She told   
herself, as she dunked her head under the water   
to rinse the soap out.   
  
She stood, slicking her hair back and   
waiting for the water to get out of her eyes.   
She felt a little tingle. She froze. Something   
felt...different. There was a subtle change in   
the air. She felt a draft waft over her body, as   
her ears registered the muted hush of a large   
crowd. She wiped the rest of the water out of   
her eyes and opened them.  
  
She was standing completely naked in the   
middle of the Throne Room. She blinked calmly,   
then rapidly used her powers to examine the last   
few hours around her bathing room. She could   
detect nothing, yet SOMEONE had obviously placed   
a teleportation matrix in her bathtub. The fact   
that she couldn't find anything meant that it   
was....  
  
Her eyes narrowed, and she slowly searched   
the room for her target. There. Talking to a   
slim, white-haired man, facing away from her.   
She stalked towards the soon-to-be-dead victim.  
  
She pulled the Time Staff out of Un-space as   
she walked. She silently moved behind the person   
responsible and...  
  
*WHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAM   
WHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAM  
WHAMWHAMWHAM*  
  
"BAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKA  
BAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKABAKA   
BAKABAKA!!!"  
  
Beat Nemesis over the head with the Time   
Staff, screaming the entire time.   
  
Once Nemesis was a bloody mess on the floor,   
she took a deep breath (doing interesting things   
to her chest in the process), turned, and   
started to calmly walk out of the Throne Room.  
  
"What are YOU staring at?" she snapped   
harshly at a young noble who looked to be in a   
state of shock. He fainted. Pluto sniffed and   
continued on her way.  
  
Nemesis' companion looked down at him.   
  
"All right, you win. Her hair color IS   
natural." His voice was faintly surprised.  
  
"Shut up, Artemis." Nemesis groaned as he   
stood up. "That woman can HIT!"  
  
"What insanity made you decide to DO that?   
Pissing off Pluto is not a good way to lengthen   
your life span." Artemis asked, shaking his   
head.  
  
Nemesis paused in wiping the blood of his   
face. He shrugged as he pointed to the center of   
the room. "The same kind of insanity that made   
me do THAT."  
  
"Huh?" Artemis turned his head just in time   
to see the Senshi, both Elder and Younger, get   
teleported into the center of the Throne Room.   
Naked, of course.  
  
"I left white hair by the teleport matrixes   
for them." Nemesis informed him. Artemis looked   
at him, his eyes going wide and his face pale.  
  
"Might I suggest running? And changing into   
a cat? You're harder to hit that way." Nemesis   
grinned as Artemis took his advice and ran like   
the hounds of Hell were after him. Which wasn't   
far off, actually.  
  
**************  
  
"What the hell was that?!" Rei demanded,   
halfway in a panic.  
  
"That was a little trick I learned to do   
sometime around 3 AD. It allows you to share   
your memories with other people. It's useful in   
situations like this." Setsuna calmly replied.  
  
"He teleported us into the Throne Room butt-  
naked. Please tell me we got him back." Haruka   
stated in a too-calm voice.  
  
"You got him back. Or at least gave it a   
good shot. You waited until the next time he was   
in the public baths, then stole his clothes, and   
asked Queen Serenity to summon him."  
  
"Excellent." Haruka grinned.  
  
Setsuna continued. "He then walked to the   
Throne Room from the far side of the Palace,   
where the baths were located. Without his   
clothes."  
  
"He walked through the entire Palace buck-  
naked?" Makoto asked, incredulously.  
  
"No. He was nude, not naked. In order to be   
'naked', you have to care. He didn't. Being   
raised by Arik, he had NO nudity taboo. He wore   
clothes because they let him hide weapons better   
and provided some protective properties."   
Setsuna sighed, then asked rhetorically, "Have   
you ever tried to embarrass someone with no   
sense of modesty, and no shame? It isn't easy."  
  
"I can imagine." Ami stated dryly. She   
opened her mouth to continue, but was   
interrupted by a beeping from the Mercury   
Computer.   
  
"Ah, man! Why now?" Minako whined as Ami   
grabbed the Computer and began typing like   
crazy.  
  
Ami went pale. "There are at least 20   
individual disturbances." She whispered in a   
horrified voice.  
  
"Let's go." Setsuna's voice was flat.  
  
******************  
  
Tuxedo Kamen crouched on the edge of the   
roof and tossed another rose. It punctured the   
eye of one of the group of youma they were   
fighting. Of course, that only removed one eye   
out of four.  
  
All of the youma looked exactly the same.   
The easiest way to describe them would be to   
imagine them as an eight-foot tall humanoid   
Praying Mantis. They were insanely fast, and   
tough enough to be a pain.  
  
Kamen was using his roses to do pin-point   
attacks from the roof tops. They were   
surprisingly effective, having already accounted   
for seven of the twenty-plus youma.  
  
"Still hiding on the roofs, pretty boy?" a   
voice asked caustically from behind him.  
  
Kamen didn't even bother turning. "Actually,   
I'm providing support and precision fire."  
  
"Good. You've finally learned something.   
Sitting on a roof while killing an enemy is   
usually easier than getting in its face. Not as   
much fun, though." Nemesis commented as he   
walked over next to Kamen. He stared down at the   
fight.  
  
"This isn't right." Nemesis stated in a very   
unhappy tone.  
  
"What do you mean? We're winning!" Kamen   
replied irritably. Isn't he EVER happy?  
  
"These youma shouldn't be that organized.   
They're using tactics. I've never seen a youma   
built like that with anything that even   
resembled a brain." Nemesis explained.  
  
"So they're different from what you're used   
to. Big deal." Kamen's voice was flippant as he   
tossed another rose.  
  
"They're being controlled." Nemesis smiled.   
"That means I get to have some fun. Stay here   
and keep up the...passable work. How many are   
left, by the way?"  
  
"Eight." Kamen threw three roses in rapid   
succession. "Make that seven."  
  
"Good. Stay out of my way when I find the   
leader." Nemesis commanded, as he jumped off   
the rooftop.  
  
***************  
  
"Well, that was easy." Jupiter announced as   
the last youma went down. "Why were these things   
so weak?"  
  
"I'm not sure." Mercury replied.  
  
"They were testing us. Trying to find out   
more about our tactics and styles." Pluto   
stated. "That means someone was watching."  
  
"That's what Nemesis said, too." Kamen   
interjected as he landed next to Moon.  
  
Pluto's head snapped around. "Nemesis is   
here?"  
  
"He took off. Said something about having   
some fun." Kamen informed her, as he checked   
Moon for injuries.  
  
"Oh, dear." Pluto whispered.  
  
"What? Is that bad? Why is that bad?" Saturn   
asked. A block away from them, the top four   
stories of an office building vaporized in a   
gout of flame. The shockwave threw all of them   
to the ground.   
  
"That's why." Pluto groaned, after she spat   
the dirt out of her mouth. "Large scale   
explosions are Nemesis' idea of fun. At least he   
doesn't know the Dragon Slave."  
  
*THA-WHUMP* A smoking body slammed into the   
concrete in front of Venus. After a few seconds,   
it coughed, letting loose a small cloud of   
smoke, and spoke.  
  
"Anyone smell barbecue? Oh, wait. That's me.   
Heh." Nemesis started to chuckle as he rose to   
his feet. "That's one nasty little fellow. He's   
mine."  
  
"Who is?" Moon asked.  
  
"Him." Nemesis pointed down the street   
towards an approaching figure. "Of course, if   
you get a clean shot, take it. I'm crazy, not   
suicidal."  
  
"Right." Uranus started to grin.  
  
"And don't forget, I will survive ANYTHING   
you can throw at me. You hit me just for fun,   
and I'll make the training I put you through   
before look like a walk in the park." Nemesis   
cautioned, before turning and walking towards   
the figure.  
  
By this point, they could make out what the   
figure looked like. It appeared to be a man,   
dressed in a tasteful pinstripe suit, the kind   
of suit that subtly screamed "I'm expensive as   
hell!" It was also smoldering. He had short   
light black hair, dark eyes, and an average   
build.  
  
"Do you know what this suit cost?" he asked   
pleasantly. "More money than you'll ever see.   
I'm afraid I must insist you make reparations."  
  
"And how do you think I'll do that?" Nemesis   
asked, once he was close enough to speak   
normally.  
  
"Well, you could replace it. I've been   
thinking about getting one made out of leather.   
You look to have enough skin on you to make a   
decent start. I'll just take the rest from your   
little friends. I do hope they manage to stay   
alive during the skinning." The man responded,   
sounding positively delighted at the thought.  
  
"You don't want a leather suit. They get   
sweaty and chafe." Nemesis politely informed   
him.  
  
"Really? I guess I'll just kill all of you,   
then. Thank you for that little tidbit, though."   
Came the disappointed reply.  
  
"You're welcome." Nemesis cordially answered   
as he kicked a chunk of rubble into the man's   
forehead.  
  
"That hurt, you know." The man rubbed his   
forehead as he spoke. There wasn't a mark on it.  
  
"It was supposed to. I'm Sailor Nemesis.   
Senshi of Chaos, protector of Queen Serenity,   
bodyguard to the Royal Family, and one hell of a   
poker player. And you are?" Nemesis asked,   
casually dodging the blood-red blast the man   
shot at him.  
  
"Oh, I'm Augstyn. Soldier of the Imperial   
Roman Empire, Praetorian Guard, and extremely   
good at killing anything that annoys me. You   
annoy me, by the way." He replied, jumping back   
as Nemesis tossed a car at him.  
  
"Well, now that the formalities are done   
with, shall we begin?" Nemesis inquired.  
  
"But of course."   
  
As soon as Augstyn replied, Nemesis blurred   
into action. He slammed a kick into Augstyn's   
chest, sending him flying through the brick wall   
of a building. He quickly ran after the man.  
  
The Senshi stared at where the pair had been   
a few seconds before. A series of violent   
explosions resounded in the direction Nemesis   
had gone.  
  
"Did he just...exchange pleasantries with   
someone who wants to kill every last one of us?"   
Mercury hesitantly asked.  
  
"That's what it sounded like to me." Neptune   
slowly answered.  
  
Pluto opened her mouth to say something, but   
was interrupted by a beeping coming from the red   
gem on her bow. She blinked and looked down at   
it. "The encrypted channel? How did he get THAT   
access?" she murmured as she touched the gem.  
  
"...amned thing working? Why the hell isn't   
this thing transmitting? Pluto, you there?"   
Nemesis' voice sounded.  
  
"I'm here. What do you want? And how did you   
get access to this frequency?" Pluto testily   
asked.  
  
"YOU gave me the access, remember? Anyways,   
the reason I'm using this is--WHOA, THAT WAS   
CLOSE! NICE TRY, MOTHER-FU--Ahem, I need you   
guys to get me a clean radius. This guy is good.   
And he just broke my nose. And three ribs. And   
dislocated my shoulder. So screw it. I want some   
vindication." Nemesis sounded almost happy.  
  
Pluto paled. "Vindication?"   
  
Her voice was a whisper as she turned   
towards the Senshi. "Run."  
  
"What? Pluto, what did you sa--OOF!" Moon   
started to ask Pluto to repeat what she said,   
but was cut off when Pluto dashed over to her,   
flipped her over her shoulder, and started   
running.  
  
"I said 'RUN'!" Pluto yelled, as she took   
off running.   
  
The Senshi shared a glance. No words were   
needed. They were all thinking the same thing   
and they knew it. Pluto freaked = very BAD   
thing = RUN!  
  
Pluto was carrying Moon, who wasn't the   
lightest person on the planet. They still had a   
tough time catching up to her.  
  
"Pluto, *huff* why *puff* are *pant* we   
*wheeze* running?" Jupiter gasped out.  
  
Pluto showed no visible effort as she   
answered. "Nemesis is about to cast one of his   
'Big Three'. Its name is Vindication. It's the   
first on a three-step scale. The next is named   
Absolution. That's what he used on Mimas. The   
most powerful is named Solitude. We suspect   
that's what was used to destroy the planet   
Nemesis."  
  
"What kind of blast are we talking about?   
How big?" Uranus asked, easily keeping pace once   
she had caught her breath.  
  
"I'm not sure. Let me check." Pluto tapped   
on her gem. "Nemesis?"  
  
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!" His voice   
bellowed a reply. "I'M BUSY HERE!"  
  
"How far do we need to be?" Pluto asked,   
unperturbed by his tone.  
  
"I'd recommend three blocks from my current   
position. YEAH, YOU LIKE THAT? HUH? YOU WANT   
SOME MORE OF THAT? WELL, COME ON YOU LITTLE--"  
  
His voice was cut off as Pluto quickly   
tapped the gem. "I think we've heard enough."  
  
Behind them, a HUGE fireball rose in to the   
air, leaving behind a corona of black smoke. The   
ground shook.  
  
"I REALLY hope we don't have to pay for   
that." Moon commented from her perch.  
  
"I really don't think they'll care about   
that in a few seconds." Pluto commented, as she   
ducked into an alley and tapped on her gem   
again. "We're clear."  
  
"Good. Let me get into a better position."   
Nemesis responded. "I'm there. Brace   
yourselves."  
  
It wouldn't be right to say they heard him   
begin. Even if Nemesis screamed at the top of   
his lungs, if would be doubtful that they would   
have heard it.   
  
Nevertheless, they KNEW when he started to   
cast the attack. They felt it in their bones.   
Their magic resonated with it. It skittered over   
their skin like a million spiders. Their   
instincts screamed at them to "RUN!" They   
concentrated on ignoring all of it.  
  
There was a huge flash, the ground shook,   
and car alarms went off. But there was no   
shockwave, no ear-shattering explosion. Just a   
flash, a tremor, and a gust of wind.  
  
Pluto slowly poked her head out, then walked   
out. She jumped up to the roof. The rest of the   
Senshi followed her, and sucked in their breath   
at the sight.  
  
What appeared to be an entire block was   
just...gone. Buildings were cut cleanly as if by   
a knife. Power lines sparked as they danced   
insanely over the ground. A perfectly circular   
section of Juban had been completely vaporized.  
  
"Kami protect us. How many people did he   
kill with that attack?" Mars whispered in an   
absolutely horrified tone.  
  
"None. Absolutely none. The bastard skipped   
out before it killed him. But he was seriously   
hurting." Nemesis said from behind them. They   
whirled.  
  
"WHY THE HELL DO YOU keep...doing...that?"   
Uranus' voice trailed off as she got a good look   
at Nemesis.  
  
He had a deep cut directly over his right   
eye, his nose was obviously broken, and his left   
eye was rapidly swelling shut. From the way he   
was holding his right arm over his chest it was   
obvious the broken ribs he had mentioned hurt,   
and his left arm was hanging loosely in its   
socket. His shirt had large rents all over it,   
and Mercury thought she saw a brief flash of   
bone through one of them. He looked like someone   
had been put him in a blender and hit 'Frappe'.   
He was nonchalantly leaning against a vent to   
his right.  
  
Mercury gasped and hurried over to him.   
"Hold still." She commanded.  
  
"Whoa! Not the aAAARGGH!" Nemesis screamed   
as Mercury touched his left arm and it shifted   
just below the elbow. She quickly snapped her   
hand back and stepped back. Her eyes had a mute   
question. He satisfied her curiosity.  
  
"Blocked a manhole cover doing Mach 1.8.   
Turned out to be a bad idea. Who knew?" Nemesis   
tried to shrug, but failed. "Actually, it's not   
so bad. It's annoying, that's all. The broken   
left femur is what I'm pissed about."   
  
"Broken...left...femur." Mercury repeated   
slowly.  
  
"Yup. Got it blocking a telephone pole. Or   
maybe it was that tanker. Whatever." Nemesis   
tried to shrug again. He still didn't quite   
manage it. His gaze sharpened. "Pluto. They need   
training. A lot of it, too. Either you take care   
of it, or I will. I'd suggest you start   
immediately. As in tomorrow."  
  
"We have school tomorrow." Mercury   
informed him calmly.  
  
"All the schooling in the world doesn't   
matter if you're not alive to use it. Just a   
little reminder." He smiled, showing lots of   
teeth. He looked down.   
  
"Saturn, what are you doing?" His voice   
was pleasant, almost kind. Saturn had walked   
over to him and had placed her hands on his   
stomach.  
  
"I'm going to heal you. Please don't   
move." Saturn replied, as her gloved hands began   
to emit a white glow.  
  
"Don't bother. Wouldn't work." Nemesis   
gently removed her hands.  
  
"Why not?" Saturn asked unhappily.  
  
"It's just the way my magic works. I can't   
be healed by outside forces. You'd just make it   
worse. Thank you for the thought, though."   
Nemesis smiled kindly at Saturn.  
  
He turned and more or less fell into the   
shadows, swearing under his breath the entire   
time.  
  
Pluto sighed as she looked up at the sky.   
"It's getting dark. Let's go to my house. It's   
the closest. You can call your parents from   
there and tell them you're staying over."   
  
******************  
Somewhere else.  
  
"I can explain, really I can." Augstyn   
babbled. He was a mess. Literally charred over a   
good 70 percent of his body, one eye gone, the   
bones in his right arm ground into powder, and   
occasionally coughing up blood from his   
punctured lung. The fact that most of his   
internal organs were the consistency of soup, or   
the multiple hairline fractures on his skull   
didn't appear to be slowing him down, but they   
still hurt.  
  
A shadowed form stared at him with glowing   
red eyes from its perch in a large, overstuffed   
Laz-E-Boy. (Just because you're evil doesn't   
mean you don't like comfy chairs.) This was the   
Master. If he had another name, he had never   
bother to inform anyone. He calmly watched as   
Augstyn babbled away.  
  
"You see, I knew we needed more data on the   
Senshi, so I thought--URK!" His voice was cut   
off by a hand closing around his throat. He was   
slowly lifted into the air and brought close to   
his Master's face. Augstyn nervously stared at   
the razor-sharp teeth that were well within   
biting distance as the Master started to speak.  
  
"That is just the problem. You 'thought'. I   
was under the impression that I had broken you   
of that habit. Of course, if you 'think' you   
understand more about my goals than I do...."   
his Master's gravelly voice trailed off.  
  
Augstyn frantically shook his head. He could   
feel his Master's claws digging into his neck.   
He tried desperately not to remember the time he   
watched the Master gleefully flay a man with   
those nails.  
  
"Listen to me, and listen well, little   
Augstyn. I have not spent all the time I have on   
this miserable little mudball to have my efforts   
ruined by you. I was already sick of this planet   
when your ancestors considered a bronze sword as   
the height of weaponry.   
  
"I hate this pathetic hellhole. I would like   
nothing more than to reduce it to random atoms   
floating through the void of space. But, until I   
accomplish my goals, I CAN *NOT*. If you EVER   
endanger my plans again, I will make you wish   
your great-grandparents had died at birth.   
Understand?" The Master's voice was coldly   
formal and flat.  
  
Augstyn nodded quickly, trying to ignore the   
obvious enjoyment the Master had at his terror.  
  
"Good. Now get out of my sight." He was   
tossed to the floor carelessly. Augstyn ignored   
the pain, ignored the broken bones, just   
scrambled quickly for the door. He had to get   
away. HadtoHadtoHadtoHadtoHadto!  
  
A chuckle sounded through the room after   
Augstyn had managed to pull himself out. "Good.   
Maybe next time he'll actually listen. Now, what   
should I do? Ah, I know. I'll go...exploring.   
London? I've had fun there before. Maybe it's   
time for Jack to come back."  
  
With that, the dark figure disappeared,   
laughing the whole while in a harsh, grating   
tone.  
  
******************  
  
"I can't wait to go to sleep." Minako   
commented as the group minus Mamoru (who had a   
test to study for) and the cats (Setsuna   
informed them that Ranko had an extreme allergy   
to cats), walked towards the door of Setsuna's   
home.   
  
Everyone absently nodded as they kept   
their full attention on Haruka, who was telling   
a story about their houseguest.  
  
"...So Ranko stumbles in, shirt ripped,   
pants shredded, and one shoe gone. Has a black   
eye, a split lip, and one massive bruise on her   
side. You know her only comment?" Haruka waited   
a bit to build suspense.   
  
"And I quote: 'I ran into an old friend. I   
was kicking his ass until he got lost. We got   
any ice?' That was it! She never mentioned it   
again!" Haruka shook her head in exasperation.   
"Man, she's come home just about every night   
with something. I don't know how she manages to   
keep herself clothed."  
  
They were halfway to the door when Setsuna   
froze and blocked the group from going any   
further with her arm. Haruka was about to   
complain, but one look at Setsuna's face halted   
her.  
  
"Setsuna? What's wrong?" Haruka asked in a   
concerned tone.   
  
"The door is open. And I know I closed and   
dead-bolted it when I left." Setsuna's voice was   
quiet.   
  
"So Ranko came home after a fight and   
didn't lock it. Big deal." Haruka negligently   
replied.  
  
"Ranko never uses the front door,   
remember? She always goes through her window."   
Setsuna reminded her. "Now, stay here."  
  
They watched as Setsuna cautiously   
advanced the last few yards to the door. When   
she got to it, she knelt down and touched her   
fingertips to the doorstep, then lifted them and   
rubbed them together. She motioned them forward.  
  
"What did you find?" Ami asked nervously.  
  
"Blood. Pretty good puddle, too. Smeared   
on the door handle, the pot where I keep the   
spare key, and the key. Key's still in the lock,   
too." Setsuna stood and commanded in a firm   
voice, "Follow me. Watch your backs, and be on   
your guard. It might just be a burglar who cut   
his hand. If it is, he's going to regret it."   
Unspoken, yet still understood by all, was the   
thought that it probably wasn't a burglar,   
though.  
  
Setsuna pulled open the left side of her   
jacket and reached in. What her hand was holding   
when it emerged made the other Senshi gasp and   
caused their eyes to pop.  
  
"That's a mighty big gun." Haruka calmly   
commented. (And ranked an 8.5 on the coolness   
meter.)  
  
"It's a Taurus Raging Bull. Fires .454   
ammo of my own make. Trust me, you hit someone   
with this gun, they don't get back up." Setsuna   
informed them in an almost happy tone.  
  
"You do know that guns are highly illegal,   
right?" Makoto asked calmly.  
  
"Not if you have the right permits."   
Setsuna replied, as she pushed the door open   
with her foot.  
  
"Why do you have a gun, anyways?" Ami   
interjected.  
  
"Because it's not always practical to   
transform and hit my enemy with a Dead Scream.   
Now be quiet!" Setsuna commanded, then dashed   
into the front room, gun at the ready.   
  
She swiftly and silently followed the   
trail of blood through the room and up the   
stairs. The others followed her, though not as   
swiftly, and nowhere near silently.  
  
"This is just like one of those Bond   
films. Minako Aino, starring in: 'Lotsopussy'!"   
Minako loudly whispered. Haruka choked. Most of   
the other Senshi tried to illuminate the room   
with blushes alone. Hotaru was confused at their   
weird behavior. Older people were just weird   
sometimes.  
  
"That's 'Octopussy', Minako." Haruka   
finally managed to get out through her attempts   
to keep from laughing out loud.  
  
"Oh. Well, close enough." Minako   
flippantly replied.  
  
Haruka was about to say more, but was cut   
off when a hand was slapped over her mouth.   
Setsuna glared at her.  
  
"Do you mind? I can't hear anything over   
you people!" She hissed. "The blood trail goes   
to the bathroom. I'm going to check it out. You   
stay here. If I need help, you'll know. Just   
listen for loud booms."  
  
Setsuna started to stalk slowly down the   
hall. Haruka looked over at Michiru, raised an   
eyebrow, grinned, and followed her. The rest of   
the Senshi followed Haruka.   
  
Ahead of them, Setsuna silently groaned to   
herself. Nemesis is right. They DO need to   
train.  
  
She slowly edged around the open door of   
the bathroom. There was a small form laying on   
the floor just inside the door. Keeping one hand   
firmly on her pistol, she reached over and   
switched on the light.  
  
"SON OF A BITCH!"   
  
The Senshi nearly jumped out of their skins   
as Setsuna bellowed an obscenity and ran into   
the bathroom. They quickly ran to the door and   
looked in.   
  
Setsuna was kneeling down next to a familiar   
red-headed female. The blood obviously belonged   
to her, as she was lying in a small puddle of   
it.  
  
"Ranko?" Haruka's horrified whisper sounded   
hideously loud in the sudden silence. Oh, hell.   
This is a lot worse than last time she crawled   
home.  
  
Setsuna returned her pistol to its holster   
and slowly reached over to Ranko's still form.   
She could see that she was still breathing,   
which was a good thing. However, she appeared to   
be unconscious, which was a bad thing.  
  
As Setsuna's hand touched her, Ranko jerked   
a bit.   
  
"Wha? 'Suna? 'Zat you? Ya, 'tis. Good. Need   
a lil' help here." Ranko slurred out.  
  
"My God, Ranko, who did this to you?" Rei   
asked.  
  
Ranko snorted and chuckled weakly. "'m fine.   
Y' sh'd see th' other guy."  
  
She was still chuckling softly when she   
passed out.  
  
******************  
  
"I simply can NOT believe she won't take   
Ranko to a hospital! What's she trying to do,   
kill her?" Rei raged as she stalked around the   
living room, waiting for Setsuna to come down.  
  
"I'm sure she has a reason." Haruka   
pragmatically said. Of course, if it's not a   
damn good one, I'm gonna kick her ass. Haruka   
had to admit, Ranko could be REALLY obnoxious,   
but she grew on you.   
  
"What kind of reason could she have? Ranko   
has to have massive blood loss, could have   
internal injuries, and needs to be x-rayed at   
the very least! We should be out finding the   
bastard that did that to her and making him   
pay!" Ami nearly snarled from her seat by the   
window.   
  
Everyone stared at her. Ami was almost   
growling as she said that. Ami growling was NOT   
a usual thing. It was scary.  
  
"You can't find him. By now he's long   
gone. And even if you did, you wouldn't be able   
to hurt him. Not if he managed to hurt her like   
that." Setsuna announced from the doorway.  
  
"And just why aren't we taking her to the   
hospital? She needs medical attention!" Ami   
yelled.  
  
"Don't yell. Ranko's asleep." Setsuna   
calmly commanded as she walked across the room   
to a cabinet against the far wall. She opened it   
and pulled out a crystal-cut bottle filled with   
amber liquid and a large glass. She pulled the   
stopper out and filled the glass to the brim.   
She lifted the glass to eye level, and looked at   
it.  
  
"Bottoms up." Setsuna commented, then   
tossed back the entire glass in one shot. She   
winced, then poured another glass and downed it   
too. She replaced the bottle after pouring   
a third glass, then walked over to the couch and   
sank into it next to Makoto.   
  
Setsuna swirled her drink as she started   
to speak. Her voice was quiet and serious.  
  
"Ranko has...certain people after her.  
Because of that, I cannot take her to a   
hospital. It's also the reason she's so good at   
fighting. She's had a LOT of practice. In all   
likelihood, the person who did that to her was   
one of those people."  
  
"So let's find them and 'convince' them to   
leave her alone." Ami growled through gritted   
teeth.  
  
"If they did *that* to her, you wouldn't   
stand a chance. Trust me." Setsuna said softly.  
  
"I'll transform." Ami quickly replied.  
  
"It wouldn't matter." Setsuna sipped at   
her drink.  
  
"What do you mean, 'It wouldn't matter'?"   
Haruka asked.  
  
"Ranko could defeat you even if you   
transformed. Blindfolded. With both arms tied   
behind her back. Without breaking a sweat."   
Setsuna stated, looking Haruka straight in the   
eyes. "She's been holding back against you. A   
lot."  
  
"Has she." Haruka's voice was flat.  
  
"Oh, yes. If you attacked her in her   
sleep, she wouldn't even have to wake up to   
knock you out." Setsuna said, then drained the   
glass.  
  
"Setsuna-mama? Can I heal Ranko?" Hotaru   
asked hesitantly.  
  
Setsuna smiled tenderly at her. "No,   
Hotaru-chan. It's not necessary. Ranko just   
needs some sleep and a lot of food. I'd lay   
money on her being fine in time for school   
tomorrow."  
  
"Are you serious?" Makoto incredulously   
exclaimed.  
  
"I'm very serious. Ranko has trained her   
body to heal faster." Setsuna answered, as she   
moved over and filled her glass again.  
  
"I'd be careful how much of that you put   
away, Setsuna. Double-malt scotch will knock you   
on your ass." Haruka cautioned.  
  
Setsuna laughed. "Haruka, I couldn't get a   
buzz even if I wanted to. My powers ensure it.   
They don't let me get drunk. Although, I there   
are times I wish I could get drunk. Most I can   
manage is a bit relaxxed." She smirked as she   
mock-toasted towards Haruka. "Ever wonder why I   
never have hangovers? Bottoms up."  
  
"Well, that must come in handy." Minako   
commented.  
  
Setsuna just smiled as she sat down again.   
There was silence for a few seconds, then she   
spoke again.  
  
"He was right."  
  
"Who was? And about what?" Michiru quickly   
inquired.  
  
"Nemesis. He was right. You DO need   
training. We should start tomorrow." Setsuna   
glanced at her watch. "Make that today."  
  
"When are we supposed to train? At night,   
we have to deal with youma, and during the day   
we have school. I don't see how we can manage   
it." Ami calmly stated the facts.  
  
"Simple. You don't go to school." Setsuna   
responded.  
  
"WHAT?!" The room exploded into a babble   
of voices. Some of them (Minako, Makoto, Usagi)   
were excited by the prospect of no school, while   
the rest were protesting.  
  
Setsuna silenced them all by lifting her   
hand.   
  
"You didn't let me finish." She coolly   
stated. "I never suggested you stop learning. I   
merely suggested you stop going to school. I am   
fully licensed to teach well past a college   
level education. I could go to any college on   
the planet and get a job nearly instantly." She   
shrugged, "I had to do something while I waited   
for all of you to be reborn."  
  
"And how long would it take for you to set   
this up?" Haruka asked.  
  
"I already have. Why do you think I was   
making all those calls on my cell phone as we   
walked home? I start tutoring you tomorrow. Ami   
still has her juku after school, though."  
  
"How did you manage that?" Michiru   
incredulously asked.  
  
"There are some good things to being your   
school counselor. It allows me to assign all of   
you to a 'semi-independent study to show the  
effects of small-group tutoring on a wide range   
of students' at a moment's   
notice. With Rei, I just had to request that she   
be included to 'facilitate a   
wider diversity amongst the student ratio'.   
After that, it was just a matter of   
calling your parents and informing them of the   
great honor you had just   
received. Simple, really." Setsuna smirked a   
little.  
  
The Senshi all stared at her in amazement.   
Setsuna smiled as she stood, then spoke.  
  
"You should sleep now. We're going to   
start early tomorrow. I'm afraid none of us are   
going to be able to sleep upstairs, though.   
Ranko's nerves are too tightly wound right now   
to stay asleep if we went up there. Haruka,   
please show them where the spare bedding is. I   
have dibs on the couch." Setsuna calmly   
declared.  
  
"Why do you get the couch?" Minako   
demanded.  
  
"It's my house. It's my couch. It's the   
first time I've gotten sleep in the last week.   
*I* *GET* *THE* *COUCH*." Setsuna never raised   
her voice, but her tone made everyone take an   
involuntarily step back.  
  
"You get the couch." Minako squeaked.  
  
"Thank you." Setsuna smiled sweetly.  
  
Everyone gulped, then followed Haruka to   
get blankets and whatnot.  
  
*******************  
  
Rei jerked awake. She glanced around   
hurriedly. No one else was moving. Everyone was   
sleeping on the floor in Setsuna's front room.   
Except for Setsuna who had sighed happily as she   
lay on the couch. And Hotaru, who was curled up   
in the highly comfortable chair.  
  
One of the bad things about being both a   
fire maiden and Sailor Mars was the fact that   
she was mildly empathic and was unable to turn   
her empathy off. As Sailor Mars, it meant that   
she could sense evil. As Rei, it meant that she   
was constantly being awakened by strong   
feelings. She had lost count of the number of   
times she had been jerked awake by someone   
arguing in front of the temple. And she could   
never manage to get back to sleep, either. After   
a while, she had almost gotten used to it, but   
the loss of sleep still left her grouchy.  
  
It wasn't anger that had jerked her awake   
this time, though. It was a feeling she was   
quite used to sensing whenever she arrived on   
the scene of a youma attack. It was fear.   
Soul-wrenching, gut-churning terror.   
  
Rei slowly got to her feet, staggered   
over to the light switch, and snapped it on,   
waking the other occupants of the room. She   
opened her mouth to speak over the grumbling,   
but was interrupted by a scream behind her. It   
came from upstairs.   
  
Rei started to snap around, but was shoved   
to the side by a green-haired blur. Rei stared   
in shock as Setsuna ignored the stairs and   
leapt to the second floor.  
  
Rei regained her footing, only to be   
shoved aside again. This time by Hotaru, who   
followed Setsuna's example and leapt to the   
second floor as well.  
  
Rei shook off her shock and rapidly ran up   
the stairs. The rest of the group followed en   
masse. They followed the screaming down the hall   
to its origin, the room at the end of the hall.   
Idly, Haruka and Michiru noted that it was   
Setsuna's room. Hotaru was standing in the   
doorway, her face pale.  
  
As the Senshi clustered around the   
doorway, they saw a sight that branded itself   
into their brains.   
  
Ranko was curled in a ball on Setsuna's   
lap, sobbing hysterically. Setsuna was cradling   
Ranko's head against her chest and making   
soothing noises while rubbing her back. Ranko   
had her arms wrapped around Setsuna, and showed   
no intention of ever letting go.  
  
Rei hesitantly began to enter the room,   
but was halted when Setsuna shot a glance at   
her. The glance was a clearly stated "BACK OFF!"   
She retreated to the doorway and watched   
helplessly.  
  
After a few minutes that seemed like days,   
Ranko's sobs began to ease off and she loosened   
her hold on Setsuna. Setsuna slowly eased   
herself out of Ranko's grip as her crying   
stopped and gently lowered her back onto the   
bed. Ranko shifted a little in her sleep as   
Setsuna pulled the covers back over her and   
tenderly tucked her in.   
  
Setsuna brushed the hair back from Ranko's   
face, then kissed the first two fingertips of   
her right hand and touched them to Ranko's   
forehead.  
  
"May the Goddess protect you from the   
demons of your own mind." Setsuna whispered   
softly, before standing and walking towards the   
doorway. None of the Senshi needed any prompting   
to go back downstairs as quietly as they could.  
  
Once they were back in the living room,   
Rei turned to Setsuna and asked in a calm,   
deadly voice, "Setsuna, what the HELL was that?"  
  
Setsuna ignored her and went over to the   
cabinet again, removing a now-familiar bottle   
and glass. She carried both over to the couch   
and collapsed into it. She poured and drank   
three glasses in quick succession, then lifted   
the now-empty bottle and gazed at it.  
  
"It's times like this that I REALLY wish I   
could get drunk." Setsuna's voice was wistful.   
"You don't realize how much you miss the little   
things like that until they're gone."  
  
Rei tried again, this time with a little   
more heat in her voice. "Setsuna, tell me what   
the HELL just happened. What did that to Ranko?   
She didn't even wake up!"  
  
Setsuna sighed, then opened her mouth to   
speak. Everyone leaned in close to listen as she   
spoke. "Ranko's not allergic to cats."  
  
And then everyone simultaneously fell   
over. Rei jumped back to her feet. "WHA-MMMPHH!"   
  
Rei's scream was interrupted by Setsuna's   
hand over her mouth. Setsuna's voice was ice-  
cold as she spoke.   
  
"Please don't yell. You wouldn't want to   
wake up Ranko, now would you?"   
  
Rei shook her head. Setsuna smiled a tight   
smile as she removed her hand and sat back down.   
She started to speak.  
  
"Remember how I told you how Ranko was an   
extremely GOOD fighter?" Everyone nodded.   
  
"It's because of her training. Ranko has   
trained nearly every waking hour since she could   
stand unaided. Almost sixteen years of intensive   
martial arts training. No breaks, no off days,   
no vacations. No mercy was shown, or asked for,   
because mercy did not exist in the training, or   
the trainer's heart."   
  
Setsuna paused, then looked around the   
room. "What I'm about to tell you is NEVER to be   
discussed. EVER. *I* tell Artemis and Luna, not   
you. *I* will tell Mamoru, not you. *YOU* will   
tell NO ONE. If Ranko brings it up, you can tell   
her I told you. Otherwise, do not mention it. Do   
you understand and agree?"  
  
Setsuna waited until she received   
agreement from everyone in the room before   
continuing. "Ranko's primary teacher in the Art   
was her father. To call the man an idiot is an   
understatement. The words simply do not exist to   
convey the pure stupidity of that...thing."   
Disgust dripped from her voice. "He cared about   
nothing but making his child into the best   
Martial Artist on the planet. He succeeded, but   
screwed her life over as a result."  
  
Setsuna paused and took a deep breath.   
"You need to understand, he was a wonderfully   
effective teacher, but his   
teaching methods were...deplorable. One of the   
methods he decided to use to   
teach his child was a technique known as the   
Neko-ken."  
  
As Setsuna calmly described the training   
for the Neko-ken, the Senshi's faces grew   
progressively paler. As Setsuna described the   
side effects, Haruka's legs gave out and she   
collapsed to the floor. As Setsuna explained   
how the Neko-ken actually worked, Usagi dashed   
to the nearest bathroom and became violently   
ill. After what seemed like years, Setsuna   
finally fell silent. As she tried not to faint,   
Ami absently noticed that a single tear was   
sliding down Setsuna's cheek.  
  
"That bastard DIES." Michiru stated in   
an enraged, hate-filled voice. Everyone in the   
room nodded in agreement.  
  
"No. You are not to try to find him. You   
are not to try to do anything to him." Setsuna   
coldly announced.  
  
"WHY?!" Rei screamed, "Because of your   
all-important time stream? Is that it? Will his   
death cause your precious Crystal Tokyo to not   
exist? Is that it?"  
  
In a flash, Setsuna was standing in front   
of Rei, staring into her eyes. Setsuna's eyes   
were literally glowing with rage. They looked   
like a preview of the flames of Hell. Rei   
gulped.  
  
"No, Rei. His death doesn't mean a thing   
to Crystal Tokyo now. His death won't affect any   
further major events. His death is entirely   
meaningless. However, none of you are going to   
take action against him, for one simple reason:   
He is *MINE*. I have millennia of experience on   
all of you. I can make his last hours into   
weeks. By the time I'm done with him, death will   
be a comfort." Setsuna hissed, in a tone that   
would make Satan himself think twice about   
crossing her.  
  
Rei collapsed to the floor as Setsuna   
turned away and tried to remember how to   
breathe.  
  
"Setsuna, how do you know about this?"   
Usagi asked from the doorway. Her face was pale,   
and tears were streaming from her eyes. Setsuna   
averted her eyes, and said nothing.  
  
"You were there, weren't you." It wasn't a   
question. Setsuna remained silent.  
  
"Setsuna?" Michiru's voice was aghast.   
"You could have stopped that? Why didn't you?"  
  
"I couldn't have stopped it." Setsuna   
answered in a small voice.  
  
"Bullshit. You could have stopped it, you   
just didn't. Let me guess: 'Sanctity of the time   
stream?'" Rei's voice was harsh and mocking.   
Setsuna whirled to face her.  
  
"Damn it! I COULDN'T! *I* told MYSELF not   
to! Do you know what happened the LAST time I   
ignored myself? Do you? Hiroshima and Nagasaki,   
that's what! I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!" Setsuna   
cried.  
  
"You always have a choice, Setsuna." Usagi   
firmly stated.  
  
"Some choice. If I had stopped that   
attempt her father would have tried it again in   
a different place. That time, Ranko would have   
died." Setsuna responded in a haunted voice.  
  
"Setsuna, you should have done SOMETHING."   
Usagi's voice was earnest.  
  
"I did what I could. If Ranko hadn't gone   
through the Neko-ken, she would have died. If   
she had died, right now large portions of the   
planet would be irradiated craters." Setsuna   
rubbed her temples, then continued.  
  
"I've been protecting the Time Gate since   
Arik created it and put it on Pluto. I've been   
alive for so long that not even *I* remember   
just how old I am. None of you know what that is   
like. I did what I had to do. It doesn't mean   
I'm proud of it. End of discussion." Setsuna's   
tone indicated that the subject was closed as   
far as she was concerned.  
  
"Setsuna, this conversation is not over."   
Usagi stated.   
  
"Yes, it is. We can continue it after   
you've experienced something close to what I   
have." Setsuna laid down on the couch and   
prepared to go back to sleep.  
  
"And when will that be?" Minako asked.  
  
"Ask me again in a thousand years."   
Setsuna replied.  
  
There was silence for a few seconds. Then,   
Makoto broke it with a question.  
  
"So you're saying we've gotta wait until   
Crystal Tokyo?"   
  
Silence.  
  
"Setsuna?" Makoto walked over to the   
couch. She peered at Setsuna. "Setsuna? She's...   
asleep?"  
  
"Wow. That was fast." Usagi commented.  
  
"Trick I picked up from Hannibal's troops.   
Along with learning how to sleep lightly."   
Setsuna said, without showing any other signs of   
activity. "Now, go to sleep. School starts   
early."  
  
"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Haruka   
sarcastically commented as she and Michiru got   
comfortable in their sleeping bag.  
  
As the rest of the girls started to slowly   
fall back to sleep, Setsuna smiled to herself.   
Haruka, you never learn, do you?  
  
*************  
  
Michiru mumbled a little under her breath   
and shifted. There was a cold draft blowing down   
her and Haruka's sleeping bag. She tried to   
cuddle closer to Haruka, but slim hands slowly   
rolled her away. She batted them away.  
  
"You just haveta' be difficult don't ya,   
Michiru." A voice grumbled.  
  
Michiru sleepily nuzzled up to Haruka   
before something occurred to her. That wasn't   
Haruka's voice. Her eyes snapped open and she   
whipped her head around. A hand was slapped over   
her mouth before she had a chance to speak,   
though.  
  
Michiru stared at the figure over her.   
Ranko's eyes twinkled as she lifted a finger to   
her lips in a silent instruction to stay quiet.   
She grinned mischievously.   
  
Ranko's awake? She's moving? Then   
Michiru looked around the room and noticed that   
a window to the back yard was open, with the   
screen leaning against the wall beside it. She   
wouldn't.  
  
Ranko grinned as she grabbed the back of   
Haruka's shirt and the hem of her panties.  
  
She would. Michiru concluded.  
  
The group was treated to a loud, cheerful   
bellow from Ranko as she picked up Haruka and   
threw her.  
  
"TIME FOR A SWIM, HARUKA!"  
  
As Haruka flew through the open window,   
she had just enough time to notice Setsuna   
standing on the porch and saluting her with her   
customary cup of tea. Haruka drew in a breath   
for a scream just before she entered the ice-  
cold water of the pond.  
  
Inside the house, the Senshi snapped awake   
at the yell, adrenaline going into hands   
reaching for henshin pens instinctively. They   
stopped when they didn't see any enemy, just the   
tail end of Ranko's pigtail as she jumped out   
the window.  
  
  
Everyone felt the temptation to turn over   
and go back to sleep, but loud laughing from the   
back yard destroyed that idea. Everyone crawled   
out of their sleeping bags and stumbled over to   
the window and looked out.  
  
Ranko was standing in the middle of the   
yard, dressed in her usual red and black Chinese   
clothes, and mocking Haruka as she crawled out   
of the pond.  
  
"What's the matter, Haruka? You appear to   
be soaking wet. My, I wonder how that happened?"   
Ranko seemed to be enjoying herself immensely.  
  
Haruka growled, then winced. She reached   
down and made a few adjustments to her underwear   
before standing up. Ranko smirked as Haruka   
charged her.  
  
Ranko hopped over Haruka's fist (and her   
head), which left her back wide open. Haruka   
took advantage of the opportunity with a kick,   
only to have Ranko impossibly twist around in   
mid-air to dodge.   
  
Ranko's foot shot out and hit Haruka in   
the forehead with just enough force to sting   
slightly. Haruka instinctively jerked back and   
slipped on the dew-slicked grass, resulting in   
her impacting the ground on her butt. Ranko   
started laughing.  
  
"Real graceful, Haruka! Geez, I've seen   
pandas that fight better than you!" Ranko   
taunted.  
  
Haruka regained her feet, and the   
'sparring' started again. Haruka continued to   
try to even touch Ranko, who stayed just barely   
out of reach the entire time.  
  
The Senshi stared in shock as Ranko   
bounced around the yard like a ping-pong ball on   
espresso, taunting Haruka the entire time. It   
was obvious to everyone that she was in no   
danger of Haruka catching her.  
  
"Now you see why I said she'd be fine? And   
why I refused a hospital? All she needs is a lot   
of food to replenish what healing herself took   
out of her." Setsuna announced from behind them.   
  
None of them even twitched. They were too   
busy staring at Ranko play with Haruka like she   
was a child.  
  
"I want to learn how to do THAT." Makoto   
said in a reverent voice.  
  
"All you have to do is ask her. She's   
already agreed to teach all of you. But I warn   
you, her training will not be easy. And once she   
starts, she won't stop until she's happy with   
you." Setsuna warned, knowing her warning would   
fall on deaf ears.  
  
"I don't care if she makes me walk through   
Tokyo naked as long as she teaches me how to do   
that." Makoto replied, watching as Ranko flipped   
Haruka into the pond.  
  
Setsuna smiled. I warned them. Now,   
they're in for it.  
  
*******************  
  
"You gonna eat that?" Ranko asked Rei,   
pointing at the stack of waffles on her plate.   
Rei mutely shook her head.  
  
"Great. Mind if I eat 'em?" Without   
waiting for a reply, Ranko slipped them onto her   
plate, doused them with syrup, and proceeded to   
devour them.  
  
Usagi leaned over to Makoto and whispered,   
"Do I eat like that?"  
  
Makoto shook her head as she whispered   
back. "No, your manners are better." But not by   
much.  
  
"Ranko, how much CAN you eat?" Hotaru   
asked with uncharacteristic bluntness. So far,   
Ranko had devoured several LARGE stacks of   
waffles, enough orange juice to float an   
aircraft carrier, and seemed intent on consuming   
an entire pig in the form of sausage.  
  
Ranko just smiled as she reached for more   
food. It took several heaping plates more before   
she pushed herself back from the table. She   
wiped off her mouth, then spoke.  
  
"As I was comin' in, Setsuna said ya all   
wanted to learn the Art from me. That right?"  
  
Everyone nodded, and most of them had   
eager looks in their eyes. Ranko pursed her   
lips.  
  
"You understand, I ain't gonna go easy on   
ya. And I was just playin' with Haruka this   
morning. Trainin' under me 's gonna be tough,   
and I won't stop 'til I'm happy with ya."  
  
Everyone paused, taken back by the   
absolute seriousness in her voice. Rei leaned   
forward as she spoke.  
  
"We would learn, if you would teach us...   
Sensei." Everyone echoed their agreement as   
Ranko glanced at them.   
  
"All right. You asked for it. The most   
important rule is contained in my style's name:   
'Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu'. Roughly translates to   
'Anything Goes.' States everything ya need to   
know. The only rule is this: Whatever it takes   
to win. Period. You are bound only by your own   
limits. And I'm gonna make those limits bigger."  
  
Ranko glanced around the table. "I ain't   
gonna lie to ya. It's gonna be rough. It's gonna   
be hard. Before the end of it, you'll wish I was   
dead. But you will learn. And you'll learn to MY   
satisfaction."  
  
Everyone gulped and began to wonder what   
they had gotten themselves into. Ranko smiled as   
she finished her speech.  
  
"We'll begin tomorrow. But first...."   
Ranko trailed off.  
  
Everyone leaned forward in anticipation.  
  
"We need to get some more food. I'm   
starving." Ranko announced firmly. There was a   
chorus of meaty *thuds* as several foreheads hit   
the table. Ranko grinned and stood. "A martial   
artist lives by his body. Your body lives by   
your stomach."  
  
Ranko turned and bumped into Setsuna, who   
had been silently standing behind her chair.   
Ranko noticed the cup of tea in her hands just a   
little too late. The full, steaming cup of tea.   
The full, steaming cup of tea that was now   
falling right towards her. Ranko froze in panic.   
Oh, damn.  
  
Setsuna's hand flashed out, slapping the   
cup aside so that the tea missed Ranko, hitting   
Haruka instead.  
  
"AAAAAHHHHH! HOT!" Haruka screamed.   
  
Ranko ignored her. She was too busy   
looking into Setsuna's eyes. There was something   
there. A certain look in them. Ranko knew that   
look. Nabiki had it all the time. It was a "I   
know something you're hiding" look. It was a   
look that Ranko did NOT want to see.  
  
"Setsuna, can I talk to you?" Ranko asked,   
jerking her head to the door. Setsuna nodded   
agreement. Ranko followed her past, the now-  
muttering Haruka, through the living room, and   
up the stairs to Setsuna's room.  
  
Ranko wasted no time in small talk once   
Setsuna had shut the door. "You know."  
  
"Know? Know what?" Setsuna asked   
innocently. Ranko glared at her.   
  
Setsuna sighed. "Yes, of course I know. We   
can't talk about this now. There's something I   
need to do, so we'll talk later. I need you to   
pick up some things from the grocery store while   
I take care of my business. Take the girls with   
you."  
  
Ranko opened her mouth to protest, but was   
stopped by the look in Setsuna's eyes. Ranko   
knew that look, too. She had seen it in both her   
mother's and Kasumi's eyes. It meant "You will   
do it. Period." Ranko sighed.  
  
"Fine. We'll talk later." Ranko bit out as   
she turned, opened the door, and started to slip   
out. Setsuna's voice stopped her.  
  
"One last thing, Ranko. Pressure points   
wear off."   
  
"What?" Ranko asked as she snapped her   
head around. The room was empty. Ranko blinked.   
I don't know how she did that, but I have GOT   
to learn it. And what the hell did she mean by   
that?  
  
******************  
  
"Why are we getting groceries? We should   
be studying." Ami asked as she walked and   
studied the shopping list that had somehow   
appeared on the table when no one was looking.  
  
"Oh, lighten up, Ami!" Usagi exclaimed.   
"It's a lot better out here than stuck in the   
house learning stuff we'll never use anyways!   
It's such a nice day, too! Nothing can ruin it!"  
  
It's that kind of statement that nasty,   
vindictive gods live for. The kind of gods that   
make sure it rains during a picnic. Or ensure   
that all the snow melts just BEFORE you can   
build a snowman. Or, like in this case, make a   
youma attack occur just in front of you. (It   
isn't that the gods don't have a sense of humor.   
It's just that their idea of a good joke tends   
to drive mortals insane.)  
  
Everyone leapt for cover as a large,   
blue-scaled hand burst through the wall to their   
left. Everyone except for Ranko, that is. She   
just stood there, waiting to see what the arm   
was attached to.  
  
She didn't have to wait long. The youma   
quickly created a hole in the wall and stepped   
through. It was about six feet tall, and was   
covered in light blues scales. It had a   
slightly-unfinished look to it, as if its   
creator had tired of it before completion, with   
no ears, mouth, nose, or hair. It had claws,   
though. It showed this by extending them and   
taking a swipe at Ranko with its right hand.  
  
Ranko slipped around the blow and almost   
casually planted her right foot alongside its   
head, resulting in the head bouncing off the   
part of the wall that was still standing. She   
didn't even bother to take her hands out of her   
pockets.  
  
The youma staggered a bit, then attacked   
again. Ranko grinned a cocky smile, as she took   
her hands out of her pockets and spoke.  
  
"Let's party."  
  
The Senshi could only stare as Ranko   
proceeded to start to beat the crap out of a   
youma with her bare hands. (And feet. But they   
had shoes on them, so they don't count as   
'bare', obviously.)  
  
Ranko lead in with a quick backfist to the   
temple, then a side kick to the stomach. (Or the   
youma equivalent, that is.) She stepped in, and   
released a jab to the face, followed by a   
crescent kick to the head. She ducked in under   
another claw-swipe and unleashed a rapid series   
of punches to the chest, letting a bit of   
Amaguriken-level speed creep in.  
  
The Senshi winced as the sound of breaking   
bones drifted over to them. Ranko jumped back   
and commented "I don't see what's so tough about   
these things. Ribs are softer than Ryoga's!"   
From the way she was grinning, the Senshi   
quickly realized the bones that had broken   
obviously weren't hers.  
  
Ranko sighed, then charged in, kicking. A   
slow claw-swipe was brushed to the side,   
allowing her to unleash several good hits with   
her knees to the youma's already-damaged   
midsection. Ranko stayed in close, brutally   
pounding anything that looked like it would   
hurt. She seemed to be having an incredibly fun   
time.  
  
"Should we transform?" Ami asked weakly.  
  
"Would there be any point?" Haruka   
sarcastically inquired.  
  
"I don't think so. Ranko seems to have it   
well in hand." Ami admitted.  
  
Ranko grinned as the youma fell back under   
her assault. It stumbled and fell to the ground.   
Ranko started to move in, then something caught   
her eye to her right.  
  
"What is she doing?" Makoto asked in a   
perplexed tone as Ranko vaulted over the railing   
into the street.  
  
"I don't know." Ami replied, in a puzzled   
tone.  
  
They quickly got their answer as Ranko   
reached down and grabbed something at street   
level. She lifted it, revealing it to be a   
manhole cover. She placed it on edge on the tip   
of her right index finger and began to spin it   
like a giant coin.  
  
"Those things weigh over a hundred   
pounds." Ami noted, in a dull tone.  
  
The youma struggled to its feet and   
started to walk towards the Senshi's hiding   
place. Ranko stopped the manhole's spinning and   
grabbed it with one quick motion. She threw it   
with a negligent flick of the wrist, much like   
anyone else would have thrown a Frisbee. It   
slammed into the side of the youma with a loud   
*CRACK* and a squishing noise.  
  
"I don't know why, but I just had to try   
that." Ranko commented as she jumped to the   
sidewalk. She jerked a thumb back over her   
shoulder towards the youma.  
  
"That's what the Sailor Senshi have to   
take down? And they have trouble? Sheesh." Ranko   
had quickly heard most of the stories about   
Juban's favorite urban legends. She decided not   
to discount them. She'd seen weirder stuff. But   
if THAT was what they had trouble defeating,   
they were pretty pathetic.  
  
"Yeah. That was a youma." Ami answered as   
she stood from behind her cover. "Usually   
they're harder to--LOOK OUT!"  
  
"Huh?" Ranko flipped around just in time   
to see the apparently-unharmed youma rush   
towards her. "How in the hell did it--"  
  
Her sentence was cut off as the youma   
grabbed her by the throat and threw her   
across the street and down the block.   
  
Ranko twisted her body and attempted to   
lessen the impact. She knew from experience that   
she was going too fast to try to prevent an   
impact. She slammed into, and through, some kind   
of fairly weak metal objects. She grunted as a   
pole of some kind stopped her head-first flight.   
  
Okay, that hurt. Ranko admitted as she   
slid down the pole. She lay on the ground and   
concentrated on opening her eyes. She blinked   
them open. Right above her was a sign. She   
absently read it. "Please deposit windshield   
squeegee back in holder." Huh. Weird. Hey,   
what's that smell?  
  
Ranko sniffed once or twice. She was lying   
in a puddle of some liquid and there was a   
familiar odor that she knew she SHOULD   
recognize. What IS that?   
  
She was trying to get her ringing head to   
function when it hit her. "Windshield   
squeegee." Puddle. Smell. Oh, no. Please don't   
let it be what I THINK it is.  
  
Ranko wrenched herself to a sitting   
position. The sight in front of her was what she   
had feared. The mangled remains of two gas   
pumps, still spraying gasoline everywhere. She   
was lying in a rapidly growing puddle of   
EXTREMELY flammable liquid. By some miracle, it   
hadn't ignited.  
  
Ranko's brain finally re-booted itself and   
reasserted its priorities. The youma! The   
girls!  
  
Ranko snapped her gaze across the street   
and located the youma just in time to see it   
throw the manhole cover towards her still-seated   
frame.  
  
Ranko started to scramble to get out the   
lake of gasoline. Even as she tried, she knew   
the outcome. It was with a fatalistic gaze that   
she watched the manhole cover skip off the   
ground directly in front of the gasoline. A   
single, solitary spark lit. Ranko stared at it   
as it seemed to slow to an impossible crawl as   
it drifted downwards.  
  
It touched.  
  
The Senshi were blown off their feet and   
into a wall as the gas station was vaporized in   
a massive fireball. They watched as a red-haired   
figure was covered in a wash of flame.  
  
"Ranko..." Usagi whispered in a tortured   
voice.  
  
A single scorched piece of red silk   
drifted down and landed in front of her.  
  
  
The End.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
(Yeah. Right. You think I'm THAT stupid? Not   
hardly.)  
  
TBC......  
******************  
  
  
And with that, the *EVIL-NASTY* (TM)   
cliff-hanger makes it's return. I love being me   
sometimes.  
  
Thanks to my pre-readers, who helped (and   
help) me a LOT.  
  
Ja Ne!  
Slacker  
  



	7. All the Small Things

Disclaimer: All praise goes to Takahashi and Takeuchi. If you   
feel this irresistible urge to send money after reading this, I'd   
suggest a medical examination. If that shows nothing, send the   
money to them, not me. (They might take it as encouragement,   
whereas I'd just blow it on Mountain Dew and Jolt.)  
  
*****************  
"All the Small Things--Chapter 6"  
  
A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 Fanfic  
  
By Slacker (rheins@pmt.org)  
*****************  
  
Usagi reached out and picked up the smoldering piece of red   
silk. She brought it to her face and cradled it against her   
cheek, ignoring the heat as she slowly soaked it with her tears.   
The other Senshi stared in shock at the raging conflagration that   
had swallowed Ranko's form.  
  
"No one could have survived that." Ami whispered in a   
tortured voice.   
  
Haruka blinked back a few tears of her own. There would be   
time for tears AFTER Ranko's killer had paid. She surged to her   
feet, dimly aware of a rushing sound in her ears. She threw out a   
hand.  
  
"WORLD DEVASTATING!"  
  
A ball of brilliant yellow energy slammed into the youma's   
chest with a wet *CRUNCH*, throwing it back several yards. Another   
blast quickly followed, ensuring that it would NOT be getting back   
up.  
  
Haruka started to stalk over to the youma, but paused as a   
thought occurred to her. How the hell did I do that?  
  
She glanced down. A familiar sight greeted her. Namely,   
her Senshi fuku. Wait, I never transformed. How did I get in   
this?  
  
Haruka's thoughts were interrupted by a scream from Ami.  
  
"It's getting up! We need to transform, now!"  
  
A quick glance revealed that the youma was indeed rising   
back to it's feet, seemingly unharmed. Uranus got ready to meet   
its charge. She dimly noticed the series of lightshows behind her   
that signified the other Senshi transforming, but most of her   
attention was focused on her enemy.  
  
"VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!" The youma staggered back as   
the attack lanced into, and through, the center of its chest, then   
fell. This time, no one was going to take a chance. Just to make   
sure it would stay down, everyone hit it a few times while Sailor   
Moon started to warm up her attack.   
  
Unfortunately, she never got the chance to use it, due to   
that fact that the youma got up again. This time, it came up   
swinging.  
  
Uranus fell first, succumbing to a rapid series of kicks and   
punches. Somehow, she managed to dodge the claw swipes that were   
aimed at her throat, stomach, and eyes.  
  
The youma charged over her, heading towards the clustered   
group of Senshi. Venus jumped away from the group, grabbing Moon   
as she went. The rest of the Senshi were scattered like bowling   
pins from the youma's attack. Most of them managed to roll with   
the impact, but Jupiter and Mars were slammed into the wall by a   
quick backhanded blow. Mars' head made a loud *THWACK* as it   
impacted the concrete. She slumped to the ground.  
  
The youma flashed a kick towards Mars' head. She barely   
managed to jerk her head to the side in time to dodge it. As the   
foot drew back for another kick, she idly noted that it had claws,   
too. Nice, jagged pointy ones. Maybe if those nice birdies she   
was hearing would stop singing, she could do something about them.  
  
"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!!" Mars was saved from becoming a   
stain by a golden chain wrapping itself around the youma's ankle   
and pulling. It flew in a nice, picturesque arc and slammed into   
the center of the street on its head, a neat pattern of cracks   
radiating out from the impact point. It spasmed once and lay   
still, neck bent at an obviously wrong angle.  
  
Venus let her chain disappear, then bent over to help Moon   
up to feet. Moon started to stand up, then stumbled and slammed   
her shoulder into Venus' stomach, knocking both back to the   
ground. Venus was about to yell at her when she noticed something   
pass through the area formerly occupied by her head.   
  
She whipped her head around just in time to see the youma   
get ready to throw another piece of concrete at her. She grabbed   
Moon and frantically back-pedaled, desperately dodging chunks of   
concrete the whole way.  
  
The youma had just ripped out a huge chunk of concrete and   
was preparing to throw when a pair of familiar (and VERY welcome)   
phrases rang out.  
  
"FIRE SOUL!"  
  
"SHABON SPRAY!"   
  
The youma snarled as the fireball slammed into its arm,   
making the concrete drop on top of its head. It continued to   
snarl as a nearly impenetrable fog quickly covered the street.   
Venus idly wondered how it could snarl with no mouth as she   
dragged herself and Sailor Moon off of the street.  
  
"Well, don't just stand there! Kill it!" Uranus growled as   
she limped over to the group.  
  
"I think I can manage that." Jupiter remarked before   
letting fly with an Oak Evolution. The youma was thrown several   
feet and hit the ground hard. It twitched a few times then lay   
still. "That didn't seem so...hard?"  
  
"Yeah, if it was so easy, why is the damn thing getting back   
up?" Uranus sarcastically asked as Jupiter's voice trailed off.   
Jupiter huffed, then started to run towards the youma.  
  
"Jupiter! What are you doing?" Venus shouted.  
  
"Hey, Ranko took this thing bare-handed! I won't have any   
problems, especially transformed!" Jupiter confidently called   
over her shoulder. She sprinted towards the youma and slammed her   
fist into what passed for its face. A loud *CRACK* sounded. The   
youma staggered. Jupiter cradled her hand and started to swear.   
Loudly.  
  
"Crap! That thing is TOUGH!" Jupiter called between   
curses.  
  
"Well, if you'd move, we'd kill it!" Uranus yelled.   
Jupiter squeaked and moved as fast as she could.  
  
What followed next was an exercise in futility. A pattern   
was quickly established: shoot the youma, watch it fall down,   
catch your breath, then shoot it again after if got back up. It   
would dodge whenever Sailor Moon launched her attack, but   
otherwise it just took the hits.   
  
"Why won't it just DIE?!" Mars screamed after a few minutes   
of continuous fighting.  
  
Mercury paused to cast another Shabon Spray before   
answering. "I'm working on that! I think it is dying, it just   
keeps coming back!"  
  
"HOW?!" Uranus yelled.  
  
"I'm working on it! Just keep it busy!" Mercury instructed   
as she pulled out her Computer and activated her visor.   
  
"What do you THINK we've been doing?" Uranus sarcastically   
asked. "WORLD DEVASTATING!"  
  
"GOT IT!" Mercury's excited scream rang out a few minutes   
later. "There's some kind of an energy source in its chest!   
Every time we inflict a certain amount of damage, it surges!   
Think it's some kind of a teleport device! When one youma dies,   
another one is teleported in to replace it! Just destroy the   
energy source!"  
  
"Great! Now all we have to do is convince it to hold still   
long enough to hit it! How big is the target?" Mars called.  
  
Mercury analyzed her data again. "About two inches in   
diameter."  
  
Groans and, in some cases, curses met her announcement.   
  
"How are we supposed to get it to hold still long enough to   
hit something that small?" Mars demanded.  
  
"Venus! Use your chain! Mars, you've got the most precise   
attack, so get ready to hit it as soon as it's immobilized! The   
rest of you, run interference! Everyone got it?" Mercury quickly   
outlined her plan.  
  
A chorus of agreement echoed.  
  
"Good! Ready...NOW!"   
  
Everyone scattered and prepared to strike. It worked to   
perfection. Everyone but Venus and Mars struck nearly   
simultaneously, disorienting the youma just long enough for Venus   
to wrap her chain around its legs. Mars aimed her Sniper for the   
precise center of the youma's chest, and slowly let it fly....  
  
Right into the youma's intercepting palm. The other hand   
held a chunk of concrete that it threw at Sailor Moon. She dodged   
(by falling down) but cracked her head against the curb, stunning   
her.  
  
"DAMN IT!!!" Mars shrieked as she ran to check on Moon. "I   
want that damn thing DEAD!"  
  
"That makes two of us." An angry, and non-Senshi, voice   
remarked from behind her.  
  
Mars had just started to snap around when a pair of silvery   
blurs flashed past her. They impacted with the youma's legs and   
chest with an evil-sounding hiss, revealing themselves to be   
chains. A faint smell of roasting flesh drifted on the breeze as   
the youma bellowed in pain.  
  
Mars finished her spin to see a human shape that, at first   
glance, appeared to be made entirely out of fire. Upon closer   
inspection, she could see that there was an actual person under   
the flames; it was just that fire covered every inch of the   
obviously feminine body.   
  
Mars slowly began to get into a ready stance. In her   
experience, female + weird outward appearance + anger =   
youma/cardian/droid/whatever.   
  
The woman(?) totally ignored her as it walked towards the   
youma, who was now actively trying to get out of the chains. She   
spoke in a voice that was almost supernaturally calm.  
  
"You destroyed my shirt. That was my favorite shirt.   
Kasumi made it for me last Christmas. It's the second gift I ever   
got. She spent weeks making it. She slaved over every seam. She   
spent far too much in both time and money getting just the right   
silk. And you...blew... IT...*UP*! YOU ARE DEAD!!" The woman's   
voice steadily rose in volume and anger as it spoke. By the end,   
Mars' eyes were wide. She recognized that voice. It was...  
  
"Ranko?" Mars squeaked out.  
  
Ranko was ignoring her still. She walked up to the youma   
and smiled as it finally broke the chains holding it bound. The   
youma slashed at her. Ranko ducked under the hand and slipped   
around behind the youma. She lifted her right hand and cried,   
"SAOTOME FORBIDDEN TECHNIQUE! AKUMA SHINFUZEN ATEMI!" (Lit. Devil   
Heart Failure Strike.)   
  
Ranko's hand flashed down, there was a sickening *CRUNCH-  
SNAP*, Ranko drew her hand back, and the youma collapsed to the   
ground with a gaping hole in its back. Ranko examined the small   
blue gem she was holding in her hand. She snorted, then crushed   
the gem. As the gem was destroyed, the youma faded out of   
existence.  
  
As the Senshi stared in shock, Ranko walked over to a fire   
hydrant and kicked it, ripping it out of the ground and dousing   
her with a spray of water that quickly extinguished the flames   
that were on her. Two things quickly became obvious: one, Ranko's   
clothes hadn't survived, and two, Ranko was a natural redhead.   
  
"My, she certainly a...healthy girl, isn't she." Uranus   
remarked, only to be playfully smacked by Neptune.  
  
"Stop drooling. Or it's the couch for you." Neptune's   
voce was jokingly serious.  
  
Mars had other concerns. Like...  
  
"How the hell did you do that?!" She demanded of Ranko.  
  
"Do what? Survive being lit on fire? Or how did I drop the   
youma?" Ranko looked down at her some-what battered frame and   
muttered, "Blasted shrapnel. I need to learn the Bakusai   
Tenketsu."  
  
"The youma." Mars responded.  
  
"I ain't gonna tell ya. There's a reason they're   
'Forbidden' techniques." Ranko calmly replied. "I don't like ta   
use 'em. They're almost always lethal. To both sides, if you do   
them wrong."  
  
Mars was about to ask another question when Ranko cut her   
off.  
  
"Hey, you see a group of girls around here? They were here   
when the youma attacked." Ranko craned her head, trying to see   
around the other Senshi.  
  
"Umm...we sent them home." Mars quickly answered. "It was   
too dangerous to stay here."  
  
"Ah, good. I need to find them." Ranko started to run off,   
but was stopped when Mars grabbed her arm.  
  
"What do you WANT?" Ranko snapped.  
  
"How did you survive that explosion?!" Mars demanded  
  
"I don't know. But I bet I know someone who does." Ranko   
twisted her arm out of Mars' grasp. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm   
gonna go ask someone a few questions."  
  
Mars watched in frustration as Ranko sprinted down the   
street, weaving through the rest of the Senshi like a fish through   
water.   
  
As soon as Ranko rounded a corner and was reasonably sure   
she wasn't going to be seen, she jumped to a rooftop and crouched   
down. As she crouched there and stared at the street, a low growl   
escaped. Setsuna. Had to be. She knows about the curse. She   
admitted it. She HAS to be why I survived that fire. Ranko's   
eyes narrowed.  
  
"Time for me and her to have a nice, long talk." Ranko   
whispered. Unnoticed by her, multiple tendrils of black energy   
were writhing over her crouching form. She stood and headed out   
over the rooftops, on a mission to get some answers.   
  
*****************  
  
Pluto smiled as she watched Ranko sprint over the rooftops.   
With an ease born of long practice, she mentally commanded the   
Time Gate to move forward. At first, she was just scanning a few   
weeks at a time but slowly built up speed until years passed in   
the blink of an eye. What she saw confirmed what she had   
suspected. Finally, she arrived at the time frame she was aiming   
for: Crystal Tokyo. In front of the Gate was a figure that she   
knew well. After all, she saw it every day in the mirror.  
  
Pluto surveyed herself through the Time Gate. A thousand   
years hadn't produced any real changes. One of the perks of   
immortality. It didn't really make up for all the downsides,   
though.  
  
"So, which one of us gets to be Setsuna this time?" The   
future Pluto asked rhetorically.  
  
"Me, of course." The younger replied with a snort.  
  
"Oh yeah. That's right." Pluto grinned. "It's time."  
  
"Yes, I know." Setsuna replied. "Are you sure about this?   
Absolutely SURE?"  
  
"Trust me." Pluto smiled her usual enigmatic smile.   
Setsuna glared at her.  
  
"I begin to see why people hate that smile." Setsuna   
muttered, as she reached out and started to pull the Time Gate   
shut. Pluto grinned.  
  
"I'll miss you too, sweetheart. Kisses!" Pluto blew a kiss   
at Setsuna as the Time Gate swung shut with a dull boom.  
  
Pluto the younger stared at the Time Gate for a few seconds,   
then mumbled to herself. "There is NO way I changed that much in   
a thousand years. I HAVE to be playing an elaborate practical   
joke on myself."  
  
Pluto shook her head, dismissing her random thoughts. She   
had a job to do. She walked over to the Time Gate and placed her   
hand on it. A brief flicker of crimson energy ran over the Gate,   
then Pluto stepped back.  
  
"Surprisingly anti-climatic." Pluto considered the Gate for   
a few more seconds, then vanished in a burst of crimson light.  
  
******************  
  
Pluto re-appeared in her bedroom. She should have ten   
minutes before 'Ranko' made her way home. Plenty of time.  
  
"Nice entrance."  
  
Of course, 'should have' and 'does have' are two widely   
different things. Pluto slowly turned around. Ranko was sitting   
on her bed, dressed in one of Setsuna's near-trademarked business   
suits. It fit her surprisingly well. Pluto blinked. Twice.  
  
"Excuse me? Have we met?" Pluto asked politely.  
  
"Oh, come off it, Setsuna. I've already seen the others   
transform. That trick ain't gonna work." Ranko snorted.  
  
Pluto shrugged as she de-transformed. "It was worth a shot.   
Why are you wearing my clothes?"  
  
Ranko smiled thinly. "Because my clothes are all either in   
the wash, need to be sewn, or, gee, I don't know, INCINERATED!"   
  
Setsuna nodded. "Oh. Well, it's okay, then. Now, if you   
would please leave, I have things I need to do."  
  
Ranko snorted again. "Not a chance. Setsuna, I'm tough.   
I'm VERY tough. But there is NO way I should have survived being   
IN a gas station as it exploded. Ryoga couldn't have survived   
that. Care to offer an explanation?"  
  
"What makes you think I have an explanation to offer?"   
Setsuna asked, settling into a chair.  
  
"Call it a gut instinct. Or it might be the fact that   
you've already admitted to knowing about my curse. Talk. Now."   
Ranko's voice was firm. Setsuna arched an eyebrow.  
  
"With such a gracious and polite way of asking, how can I   
refuse?" Sarcasm rode heavily in her tone. Ranko shot her a   
look.  
  
"I've been jerked around enough in my life, Setsuna. I   
moved out of Nerima in an attempt to get away from that crap for a   
little while. So far, you've been fairly honest. Don't make me   
file you in the same category as Nabiki." Ranko said levelly.  
  
Setsuna considered Ranko's words for a few seconds. She   
nodded, then rose out of her chair and walked over to Ranko. She   
offered a hand.  
  
"Hello. I'm Setsuna Meiou. I'm also the Senshi of Time,   
Sailor Pluto. What's your name?"  
  
Ranko reached out and took her hand. "Hi. I'm Ranma   
Saotome. Heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial   
Arts. I'm cursed to become a girl whenever I get hit with cold   
water. Nice to meet you, Setsuna."  
  
There was silence for a few seconds. Setsuna walked over to   
her closet and pulled out a clean blouse and skirt. She began to   
unbutton her blouse.   
  
"Um, don't you want me to leave?" Ranma nervously asked.  
  
"Why? I'm sure I don't have anything you haven't seen   
before. Or touched for that matter. Or have you forgotten the   
bathroom incident already?" Setsuna calmly replied, stripping off   
her skirt and blouse, then tossing them in the clothes hamper.  
  
"Wait. How long have you known I was cursed?" Ranma asked   
with a frown.  
  
"Since before the first time we met." Setsuna's bra and   
panties joined the rest of her clothes. Ranma studiously avoided   
looking at her as she walked over to her dresser for clean pairs.  
  
"Then why are you so casual about stripping in front of me?"   
Ranma desperately asked to distract herself.  
  
"With age comes lack of modesty. It's 'safe' now. I'm   
dressed." Setsuna informed him. "Although, I think I should be   
insulted. You act as though looking at me is the worst thing that   
could ever happen to you."  
  
"I know how this works. I accidentally look, you call me a   
pervert, then you hit me. Not gonna happen." Ranma remarked,   
cautiously checking to make sure she really was clothed.  
  
Setsuna snorted. "Ranma, don't be an idiot. Unlike other   
people, I at least will listen to you BEFORE hitting you.   
Besides, I was changing with you not five feet from me. If you   
DID look, it's more my fault than yours."  
  
Ranma stared at her in absolute shock. Setsuna smiled and   
patted the side of her cheek.  
  
"Don't worry. You'll get used to it." Setsuna smirked and   
started to walk out of the room, but was stopped by Ranma's voice.  
  
"Setsuna, an explanation for my survival? Now, preferably."   
  
Setsuna paused and looked over her shoulder with a smile.   
"That's simple. The Full-Body Cat's Tongue wore off."  
  
Ranma stared at her in confusion. Setsuna walked over to   
the bed and sat down.  
  
"What does the Full-Body Cat Tongue do?"  
  
"Makes you super-sensitive to heat." Ranma's voice was   
puzzled.  
  
"Right. How do you counter it?"  
  
"The Phoenix pill." Ranma answered quickly.  
  
"That's one way. Ranma, the Phoenix pill is PERMANENT. The   
Full-Body Cat Tongue is a pressure point." Setsuna leaned   
forward. "And pressure points wear off. So what happens when the   
Full-Body Cat's Tongue wears off and the Phoenix pill doesn't?"  
  
"The Phoenix pill makes you resistant to heat?" Ranma   
answered hesitantly.  
  
"I'd say immune to heat, personally. I've seen people   
who've taken it swim in lava." Setsuna responded.  
  
"Wait, I'm not immune to heat! What about Saffron? Or the   
okonomiyaki bombs? Or-"  
  
Setsuna interrupted him mid-question. "That's because the   
Cat's Tongue hadn't worn off yet. It takes decades for it to   
completely wear off. Luckily, I know the counter-points to it."  
  
"You know the counter-points? How'd you learn those?"   
Ranma snapped her gaze over to Setsuna.  
  
"That...is a secret." Setsuna smiled as she got up and   
walked out the door, leaving Ranma to stare at the doorway.  
  
A few minutes after she left, Ranma began to chuckle.   
Softly at first, then louder, finally resulting in a deep, full-  
body laugh. After a few minutes of laughter, she rose and walked   
to the door.  
  
Setsuna was downstairs, fixing herself some tea. As Ranma   
came through the door, she spoke.  
  
"I don't believe the girls need to know about your curse   
just yet. It would...be distracting. However, in light of who   
they are and what they do, I'd like it if you'd accept some   
suggestions from me in training them."  
  
"It depends on what your suggestions are. I ain't gonna try   
anything like what my pops used to do." Ranma's voice was firm.   
  
"That's perfectly acceptable. I just have a few things I   
would like them to work on. Tea?" Setsuna offered Ranma a cup.  
  
Ranma took a sip of the green tea, then blinked and took   
another. "This is REALLY good! Best tea I've ever had! And   
that's saying a lot after Kasumi's tea."  
  
"Lots of practice. I grow the leaves and herbs myself."   
Setsuna walked over to Ranma. "Hold still."  
  
"Wha?" Ranma fell silent as Setsuna placed a hand on her   
forehead. There was a slight tingle all over her body and her   
vision faded out for a few seconds. She jerked herself away from   
Setsuna's hand.  
  
"What the hell was that?!" Ranma demanded.  
  
"I was just checking on something. Don't worry; I give my   
word that nothing bad will happen to you because of it. In fact,   
you'll thank me for it." Setsuna finished her cup of tea and then   
walked out of the kitchen.   
  
As Setsuna left, Ranma heard her whisper, "And that should   
take care of the blocks."  
  
Ranma didn't have time to wonder what she meant by that, as   
the front door was slammed open and Usagi came through at a near-  
run.   
  
"Setsuna, have you seen Ranko?" Usagi asked as she dashed   
by the kitchen.  
  
"I ain't Setsuna." Ranko replied, taking another sip of her   
tea.   
  
Usagi froze, then turned towards Ranko. She stared at her   
for a few seconds, burst into tears, and ran towards her, grabbing   
Ranko in a crushing hug as she babbled.   
"Dontyoueverdothattome!Ithoughtyouweredead!Iwassoscared!Howdidyous  
urvive?WWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!'  
  
Ranko blinked a few times then looked at the other girls who   
had filed in. "She do this often?"  
  
Affirmative nods answered her question.   
  
"Um, just how DID you survive?" Ami asked hesitantly.   
Ranko stiffened, desperately wracking her brain for a believable   
answer.   
  
"I did it." Setsuna calmly announced from the stairs,   
saving Ranko from having to try to lie in a convincible manner.  
  
There was a chorus of comprehension.  
  
"Now, everyone into the living room. It's time for your   
first lesson." Setsuna announced with, for her, an evil grin.   
Everyone but Ami groaned.  
  
******************  
  
"She's evil." Usagi groaned as she staggered out Setsuna's   
front door hours later. Setsuna had proven herself to be very   
good at catching Usagi when she wasn't paying attention. Usually   
by bouncing bits of chalk off of her.   
  
"If you'd pay attention, you wouldn't have a problem!" Rei   
snapped. She was covered in chalk dust too, as a result of the   
time Usagi had managed to somehow dodge. Rei resolved never to   
sit by Usagi again.  
  
The group walked down the street, Setsuna watching as they   
went. Beside her, Ranma snickered.   
  
"Odd bunch." Ranma commented.  
  
"Like you're one to talk." Setsuna replied.  
  
"Touche. What's in store for them tomorrow?" Ranma   
queried.  
  
"You."  
  
"Start training them?" Ranma's voice was eager.  
  
"Precisely."   
  
"Then you'd better not plan anything else for tomorrow. Or   
the next day." Ranma informed her.  
  
"Why?" Setsuna asked curiously.  
  
"I've got to find out what I have to work with. So I'm   
gonna work 'em 'til they puke. Then I'll work 'em some more. By   
the time I'm done with 'em, they'll hate my guts." Ranko calmly   
replied.  
  
******************  
  
"She's evil. I hate her." Usagi moaned from where she was   
flopped on Setsuna's living room floor. A chorus of moans and   
groans agreed with her.  
  
Everyone was firmly convinced that Ranko was a sadist. She   
had devised a simple way to determine what shape they were in.   
She simply kept going until none of them could move anymore.  
  
They started with a light warm-up exercise. Even Hotaru   
joined in. Then came the jogging. Hotaru dropped out after only   
a few minutes of this, so Setsuna carried her back to the house,   
then caught back up. After the jogging came more exercises: push-  
ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, balance exercises, stretching   
exercises, the list went on and on. After that? More jogging,   
this time at a near run. Then more exercises, then another run,   
then exercises, then a run, then more exercises....  
  
By the end of the day, Ranko and Setsuna had to carry them   
into the house.  
  
"So, what's your verdict?" Setsuna asked, sipping at her   
tea.  
  
"They're in surprisingly good shape. I'm amazed. Tomorrow,   
I'm gonna find out what they know about fighting." Ranma took a   
drink of his tea, then sighed. "You know, I could get addicted to   
this tea."  
  
Setsuna smiled, and toasted Ranma with her cup.  
  
"You think we should make them some food?" Setsuna asked.  
  
"They wouldn't be able to stay awake long enough to eat it."   
Ranma replied. A chorus of snores sounded from the living room,   
proving her point.   
  
Ranma chuckled. "They think that was bad? Just wait until   
tomorrow." She paused, then nodded to herself. "No, better make   
it the day after tomorrow. Gotta give them time to recover, after   
all."  
  
*******************  
The next afternoon.  
  
"All right, that concludes today's lessons. You guys are   
free. Don't forget to bring your exercise clothes tomorrow."   
Setsuna announced, receiving a chorus of groans in response to the   
last.  
  
As everyone got up and began to file out of the music room   
(that being where Setsuna held classes), Setsuna spoke again.   
"Not you, Ranko. You have a class that you need to make up."  
  
Ranma waited until everyone had left room, then asked, "So,   
what class do I have ta take now? Or did you just need to talk to   
me?"  
  
"No, you need to make up a class." Setsuna answered.   
  
"What class?"  
  
"Sex ed. Have a seat." Setsuna instructed, pulling out a   
slide projector and a TV/VCR.  
  
The house was silent for the next several minutes. Then the   
silence was shattered by a scream.  
  
"SAY WHAT?! YOU GOTTA BE SHITTIN' ME!!"  
  
Haruka and Michiru shared a look, then chorused, "Sex ed."  
  
Hotaru just decided to ignore them. They had just re-  
affirmed her conclusion that all grownups were weird.  
  
Ranko emerged from the music room three hours later,   
blushing like mad and trying NOT to look at anyone. Haruka   
laughed for twenty minutes straight at her expression.  
  
******************  
The next morning.  
  
Ranko surveyed the group of her students as they stood in   
two rows in the back yard. She shook her head, then spoke. "This   
is going to be painful. For me, that is. Oh, well. 'A martial   
artist's life is full of peril.' Let's do it."  
  
Ranko stepped onto the mats that covered a good portion of   
the yard and motioned to Ami. Ami nervously stepped onto the   
mats.  
  
"Now, all I want you to do is try to hit me. Alright? I'm   
not going to hit back, or even block. I'll just dodge. Now, come   
on. Hit me." Ranko arrogantly placed her hands behind her back   
and waited. What happened next was a foregone conclusion. Ami   
never even got close. After ten minutes or so, Ranko stopped Ami,   
and motioned for Minako.   
  
The same pattern was repeated for the rest of the group.   
Ranko just dodged, never striking, never even breaking a sweat.   
After Michiru had finished her turn, Ranko nodded and spoke. "All   
right. That's it for right now. Go get some lunch. After lunch,   
we'll go over what I need to teach you."  
  
"Um Ranko? What about me?" Hotaru hesitantly asked. Ranko   
smiled at her.  
  
"I already know where you are. I don't need to place you."   
Ranko kindly answered. She had rapidly developed a soft spot for   
Hotaru. The kid had a great heart. She was VERY weak, but that   
never stopped her from trying anything Ranko suggested with an   
enthusiasm that would have made Genma cry in joy.  
  
"But...I WANT to." Hotaru slowly answered. Ranko blinked,   
then shrugged.  
  
"All right. The rest of you guys, go get some food." Ranko   
instructed. "We'll be there in about ten minutes."  
  
As the Senshi walked in, Ranko was bowing to Hotaru.  
  
"Michiru, what did Ranko mean when she said she already knew   
where Hotaru was?" Ami asked as they walked towards the kitchen.  
  
"Oh, Ranko's been teaching Hotaru some Tai Chi. Hotaru   
really likes it, oddly enough." Michiru replied. "I was a bit   
worried at first, but Ranko's extremely gentle with her."  
  
"Yeah, she's great with her." Haruka interjected.   
"Hotaru's been having the time of her life learning from her.   
Heck, if I didn't know better, I'd say-"  
  
Whatever Haruka was going to say was cut off by a loud   
*THUMP* against the back of the house. Everyone whirled.  
  
"That came from the back yard!" Haruka exclaimed. Everyone   
rushed towards the back door. When they reached the back door and   
piled outside, the sight that met their eyes made them stop and   
stare.  
  
Hotaru was crouched by the back wall of the house, a   
thoroughly unconscious Ranko at her feet. Hotaru was shaking her   
lightly, calling her name. Haruka dashed over to her and laid a   
hand on Hotaru's shoulder. As soon as she touched her, Hotaru   
whirled, pressed her face into Haruka's chest, and started   
babbling.  
  
"Ididn'tmeanto!WewerejustsparringandRankowaslaughingandthens  
omethinghappenedandRankowasflyingandshehitthewallofthehouseandNOWS  
HE'SDEADANDIT'SALLMYFAULT!" Hotaru burst into tears.  
  
Haruka quickly wrapped her arms around Hotaru and started to   
try to sooth her. Michiru kneeled next to Ranko and felt for her   
pulse, then sighed in relief as she felt a strong, steady beat.  
  
Ranko started to twitch, then moaned. Her eyes slowly   
opened. Michiru noticed that there was a large, rapidly-forming   
bruise on her left cheek.  
  
"Wha tha hell hit me?" Ranko slurred.   
  
Michiru's voice was cheerful as she answered. "Hotaru,   
apparently."  
  
"Really?" Ranko still seemed a bit groggy.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Ranko looked at Hotaru and gave her an unsteady thumbs-up.   
"Good job! Oooo, look at all the stars." And with that, Ranko   
passed out again.  
  
******************  
  
"So, let me see if I understand this." Setsuna leaned back   
in her chair and looked at the ceiling. "Ranko and Hotaru were   
sparring, the rest of you were going to get some food, you heard a   
thump, you went outside, and found Hotaru kneeling over an   
unconscious Ranko? Is that correct?"  
  
"Pretty much, yeah." Haruka replied. She glanced over to   
where Ranko was stretched out on the couch.  
  
"Ranko will be fine. I truly doubt Hotaru can do anything   
too serious to her. I'm more interested in Hotaru." Setsuna rose   
out of her chair in walked over to Hotaru. Crouching down, she   
looked in Hotaru's eyes. "How did you manage to hit Ranko?"  
  
"I...I'm not sure. We were sparring, and I just KNEW what   
she was going to do! Then I...hit her." Hotaru glanced over to   
Ranko. "Can I heal her?"  
  
"She's rattled at most. She'll be fine. Now, I want you to   
do something. Keep your eyes on my finger." Setsuna lifted the   
first finger of her left hand and held it in front of Hotaru's   
face.  
  
Hotaru followed Setsuna's finger as she moved it in various   
directions. A slightly puzzled expression grew on Hotaru's face.  
  
"Setsuna-mama, why are you doing this?"  
  
"Oh, just want to see something." Setsuna's voice was   
casual.  
  
"What?" Hotaru asked, following the finger as it moved way   
over to her right.  
  
"This." Setsuna's right hand shot out in a blur, aimed at   
the side of Hotaru's face.  
  
In one impossible-fast motion, Hotaru jerked her head back   
towards Setsuna, slapped aside her hand, jumped back a few feet,   
and sank into a ready position. Setsuna calmly nodded and   
massaged her right wrist.  
  
"I thought so. You just remembered a bit of the training   
Nemesis gave you."  
  
"Nemesis trained me?" Hotaru asked, dropping from the ready   
stance.  
  
Setsuna nodded. "Of course. He was the only Chaos mage that   
was qualified. He was in charge of you teaching from the time you   
were four."  
  
"They gave Nemesis a four-year old to train? Why?" Rei   
asked.  
  
"I had other responsibilities, and no one else wanted to do   
it. Or could do it, for that matter." Setsuna's reply immediately   
quieted their questions. "Now, let's go get some lunch. Ranko   
will wake up in due time."  
  
******************  
  
Ranma dreamed. He KNEW it was a dream. You didn't normally   
find yourself floating in a black void, after all. Well, okay,   
with HIS life maybe you did. But it had the feeling of unreality   
that marked a dream.  
  
He swiveled around, trying to figure out what was going on.   
A twinge at his jaw reminded him of how he had gotten here. He   
reached up and rubbed the spot where Hotaru had clocked him.  
  
"Yeah, Saturn always COULD land a good punch. Weird,   
considering the fact that she didn't like to fight." A voice said   
from behind Ranma.  
  
Ranma flipped around. Standing upside-down behind him was   
the guy from his dream a few days ago. The guy from the mirror.  
  
"So, how's your day been?" He asked politely.  
  
Ranma tensed. No one EVER asked him anything politely   
except Kasumi. Unless they wanted something. Or were about to   
try to kill him.  
  
"Oh, get over it!" Nemesis spat. "If I wanted to attack   
you, I would have already! Dumbass."  
  
Ranma responded with Saotome Taunt #7: "Flip them the bird   
and grin." Nemesis raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, THAT was refined. Serenity would have LOVED you."   
Nemesis commented drolly. Ranma responded with another grin.  
  
"Screw you. I hate people who try to jerk me around."   
Ranma replied as he flipped the other bird, too. Nemesis sighed   
and shook his head.  
  
"I'd love to stay and chat, but it's almost time for you to   
wake up. I'll talk to you later. I PROMISE that." Nemesis   
grinned widely. "Now you might want to wake up before Uranus gets   
any closer with that bucket."  
  
Ranko cracked her eyes open. Haruka was creeping towards   
her with a bucket. Ranko smirked to herself. Haruka had a HUGE   
grin on her face and a look of obvious anticipation.   
  
One step...two steps...three steps...four steps. Perfect.  
  
*SWISH*  
  
*CLANG*  
  
*SPLASH*  
  
"AAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!"  
  
"Nice try. Don't ever try to sneak up on me."  
  
Haruka glared at her, then started to grin. "Yeah, so I   
can't sneak up on you. Big deal. *I'VE* never been punched out   
by Hotaru."  
  
Ranko winced. "Ah, shut up."  
  
Haruka started to laugh loudly.  
  
"Just wait. After lunch, I start hitting back in the   
sparring."  
  
Haruka's laughter died a painful death.  
  
******************  
  
"So, how good are they?" Setsuna asked, refilling Ranma's   
cup of tea. They were currently sitting in Setsuna's office at   
the back of the house. It was tucked back in a little used corner   
of the house and was easy to overlook. (Which was the reason   
Setsuna used it.)  
  
Ranma lifted his cup and took a long drink. He was rapidly   
coming to enjoy these little sessions. Not only could he switch   
back to a guy, Setsuna was a pretty good conversationalist. And   
she made a cup of tea that Kasumi would...well, not kill or even   
maim for, but maybe severely frown at you.  
  
Ranma considered for a few seconds to gather his thoughts.  
  
"Overall, they're amazingly good. They fight like they've   
got a lot of experience doing it. But they've all got some bad   
habits." Ranma leaned back into his chair as he spoke.  
  
"Ami. She's WAY too defensive. She never tries to strike.   
And you simply CAN'T win a defensive fight. But her defenses are   
very good."  
  
"Ami doesn't like to fight. She prefers a support role."   
Setsuna informed him.  
  
"That's all well and good, but she need to learn that   
sometimes you gotta fight." Ranma moved to the next person.   
"Minako. Out of all of them, she moves like she's got the most   
experience. She's the best all 'round, but doesn't excel   
anywhere. She shows good tactics, and good decision-making in a   
pinch. I really can't find much to fault with her.   
  
"Usagi. Oh, boy. She's...." Ranma's voice trailed off.  
  
"That bad?" Setsuna asked.  
  
"It's weird. She stumbles, trips, falls, and is just plain   
klutzy! But EVERY TIME she fell, she managed to hit me! If I   
didn't know better, I'd SWEAR she was using Drunken Kung Fu! It's   
crazy! I'm debating on whether or not balance and coordination   
exercises are a good thing or not.  
  
"Rei loses her temper WAY too quickly. She's taken some   
basic karate, but nothing too advanced. Control exercises. Lots   
of them.  
  
"Makoto. She's probably got the most training, both formal   
and practical, but she STILL jumps in too quickly and relies too   
much on power. Speed and precision practice.  
  
"Hotaru. She's too weak. She just needs to build up her   
strength. She learns REALLY fast, though. Almost as fast as me.   
It's weird. It's like she's remembering instead of learning,   
almost."  
  
Setsuna broke in. "You made Hotaru spar against you?"  
  
"Naw. Hotaru's a great kid. She WANTS to learn with an   
almost insane hunger. She'll be a great fighter one day."  
  
"Hotaru is tired of being weak, and sick of the other kids   
picking on her." Setsuna explained.  
  
"Picking on her? WHY?" Ranma's voice was incensed.  
  
Setsuna sighed. "Hotaru can heal herself and other people.   
Because of that and her weakness, she's made fun of."  
  
Ranma's face hardened. "Not any more. After a few weeks   
with me, she'll mop the floor with them."  
  
Ranma growled a little, then resumed her prior subject.  
  
"Haruka. Relies too much on her strength. She's got the   
speed to back it up, but doesn't think far enough in advance while   
fighting.  
  
"Michiru. She's WAY too formal. She's taken some karate   
and it shows. She stays in the forms too much. I need to break   
her out of them.  
  
"And that's it. Overall, they're pretty good for the   
training they've had." Ranma settled back and took another drink   
of his tea.  
  
"You forgot one." Setsuna informed him.  
  
"I did? Who?"  
  
"Me." Setsuna smiled. Ranma raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Is that a challenge?" Ranma asked calmly.  
  
"If it needs to be." Setsuna answered.  
  
"Great. We'll spar after we're done here." Ranma pulled a   
list out of his pocket and gave it to Setsuna. "Can you get me   
this stuff?"  
  
Setsuna took the list and read it. Her eyebrows lifted.   
"Yes, of course. But why would you need these?"  
  
Ranma grinned. "Why else? Training. I need those to use a   
method I picked up from a Special Ops group in the USA."  
  
Setsuna slid the list into her pocket, then stood. "Let's   
go. I want to work some kinks out."  
  
"Aren't you going to change out of your suit?" Ranma asked   
pointing at her skirt.  
  
"Why?" Setsuna asked.  
  
Ranma shrugged. "Okay, your funeral."  
  
Setsuna just smiled.  
  
******************  
The next morning.  
  
Haruka sighed as she sat down. Ranko had been curiously   
absent this morning, which meant she was still dry for once. She   
nodded thanks to Michiru for the cup of tea and the plate of food   
she was handed. Hotaru yawned as she reached for the milk.  
  
"Rassum frassum little....'I've taken a few classes.' HA! A   
few classes my ass!" Ranko muttered as she walked in and opened   
the fridge to get some orange juice.   
  
Michiru filled a plate and started to hand it to Ranko as   
she turned. Then Michiru froze and the plate shattered on the   
ground.  
  
"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Michiru nearly screamed. Haruka   
and Hotaru snapped around to see what was wrong. Both of them   
started to gape.  
  
Ranko smiled a thin, painful smile. The entire left half of   
her face was bruised and that eye was nearly swollen shut.   
  
"Me." Setsuna answered from the doorway. "I got a little   
carried away. If you think that's bad, you should see her side.   
I TOLD her not to try that side kick."  
  
Ranko just muttered some more and grabbed a plate of food.   
Haruka's, to be exact. Haruka started to complain, but was   
stopped by the look in Ranko's good eye. She leaned back and   
lifted her hands in a surrender gesture.  
  
Ranko rapidly consumed the food, then limped out of the   
kitchen, muttering all the way. Setsuna caught her arm as she   
passed by her.  
  
"I got the things you wanted."  
  
"That was fast." Ranko managed to get out.  
  
"It helps if you know the right people." Setsuna shrugged.  
  
"Great. Field trip. Forest. Set it up. I'm taking a   
LONG, HOT shower." Ranko continued in her trek out of the   
kitchen.  
  
Haruka raised an eyebrow. "Field trip?"  
  
Setsuna smiled. "We need to study botany. And Ranko wants   
to...train."  
  
Haruka smiled nervously. "Should I be worried?"  
  
Setsuna started to chuckle. Haruka took that as a yes.  
  
******************  
  
"Pass me the red bean buns, please." Ami politely asked   
Makoto.   
  
The entire group was sitting on a blanket in a small meadow.   
The meadow was, of course, in a forest. The forest was a short   
way outside of Tokyo. No one was really sure where Setsuna had   
procured a van large enough to hold everyone, but she managed.  
  
Ranko had shoveled in her food with her usual speed and had   
wandered off towards the van. She was currently rooting around in   
it, looking for something.  
  
"Setsuna-mama, what are we doing after lunch? Looking at   
more plants?" Hotaru asked, reaching for another sandwich.  
  
"No. Actually, we're going to be playing a little game."   
Setsuna smiled, almost evilly.  
  
Haruka froze. An equation was running through her head.   
Setsuna + smile + yesterday's comment about training + a 'game' =   
trouble.  
  
"YES! FOUND 'EM!" Ranko's voice sounded from the van.  
  
"Found...what?" Haruka slowly asked. She just KNEW she   
wasn't going to like this. Ranko was smiling too widely for that.  
  
"These." Ranko opened a duffel bag and dumped its contents   
on the ground.   
  
Haruka frowned as she contemplated the pile of equipment.   
It looked like common BMX gear: chest protectors, gloves, and   
facemasks. She reached over and picked up a facemask then   
frowned.  
  
"This isn't what I think it is, is it?" Haruka slowly   
asked.  
  
"That's a paintball facemask. Ranko suggested we try   
paintball to have some fun." Setsuna commented casually. "You've   
tried it before, Haruka?"  
  
"Yeah. After-race victory party when I was in the States.   
It was fun. How'd you lear--Never mind." Haruka broke off her   
question and turned to Ranko. "Where'd YOU play?"  
  
"Arizona. Learned from some Army guys when I was there   
learning their style." Ranko answered as she pulled on a pair of   
fingerless gloves.  
  
"What the heck is 'paintball?'" Usagi interjected. Ranko   
grinned.  
  
"Trust me, you'll love it."   
  
Haruka groaned at the obvious enjoyment in Ranko's voice.  
  
******************  
  
  
Nabiki smiled as she hung up the phone. Life was good. She   
had been making a substantial profit from selling the remainder of   
her photos of Ranma's cursed form. Kuno had gone nuts for them   
shortly after Ranma had left. Added to the lack or repair bills,   
it made a hefty sum.  
  
Nabiki lifted her arms over her head, clasped her hands   
together, and leaned back in her chair, listening to the cracks   
and pops that emanated from her back. She made a mental note to   
get a better chair.  
  
"Hello, child." A dry, elderly voice said from behind her.  
  
Nabiki slowly returned her arms back to her sides and turned   
around. Cologne was sitting on her bed, calmly packing her pipe.  
  
"Don't you DARE light that in here." Nabiki warned.   
Cologne cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"And why not, pray tell?" Cologne asked, lighting a match.  
  
"Kasumi would get upset. And I'll send her to you." Nabiki   
calmly responded.  
  
Cologne flinched and rapidly extinguished the match.  
  
"So, what can I do for you?" Nabiki asked, smirking.  
  
"Where is Son-in-law?"   
  
"How should I know? He vanished, remember?" Nabiki   
answered sincerely. After all, once you learn to fake sincerity,   
the rest is easy.  
  
Cologne smiled thinly. "Don't even try to lie to me, child.   
I was lying better than you before your grandparents were even a   
possibility. Just tell me what I want to know."  
  
Nabiki considered her options. She could: try to lie to   
Cologne and maybe get away with it, try to lie to Cologne and get   
caught, or just say the hell with it, tell her what she wanted,   
and try to make a profit. An easy choice, really.  
  
"Tomobiki."  
  
"No address?" Cologne asked sarcastically.  
  
"Just look for the chaos and follow it in." Nabiki   
instructed her.  
  
"Good point." Cologne snorted as she exited via the window.  
  
Nabiki considered the window for a second, then turned to   
the phone and began dialing.  
  
"Hello? Ukyo? Look, I've got some info on where Ranma   
is...."  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Nabiki was several thousand yen   
richer, and the rest of Ranma's fiancee's were on the way to   
Tomobiki. Nabiki snapped her fingers as she remembered something.   
She quickly dialed the number for her main Tomobiki contact and   
impatiently waited for it to be picked up. Finally, the phone was   
answered.  
  
"Susan?" Nabiki asked.  
  
"Yes. What is it, Nabiki? I'm kind of busy right now."   
Susan calmly answered.  
  
"Listen: You know that guy I had you following and sending   
me info on?"  
  
"Ranma Saotome? What about him?"  
  
"Was there anyone else I had you following? I need you to   
tell him something. Cologne is on her way. So is the rest of the   
Wrecking Crew. Cologne pried it out of me. The shit is about to   
hit the fan."  
  
"Right. I'll let him know."  
  
"Good." Nabiki hung up her phone, swearing. She hated   
this. She was going to look bad. In front of RANMA, no less.  
  
Setsuna closed her cell phone, smiling faintly. If only   
you knew, Nabiki. If only you knew.  
  
  
TBC....  
*****************  
Author's notes:  
  
Okay, not much action. Sorry. This chapter would actually   
be counted as 'filler,' actually. But filler is important. (Hey,   
I got it out in near-record time for me! Stop hounding me!   
*sobs*)  
  
Now, on a little note, you may have noticed the weird way   
I'm using the Ranko/Ranma thing. Here's the explanation: I use   
the appropriate gender pronoun unless it's an internal thought,   
then it's always male. I use Ranko/Ranma depending on who's   
there. If everyone there knows about the curse, I use Ranma. If   
not, then I use Ranko.  
  
Easy enough, right? (Please tell me you understand!)  
  
Anyways, this is dragging on and I'm babbling.  
  
Ja Ne!  
Slacker  
rheins@pmt.org  
  
Alpha draft: 04/01/01  



	8. All the Small Things Chapter 7

Good day, and welcome to Otaku Theater.

Today's presentation is the nearly universal disclaimer.

ahem

Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. No money is being made from this, of course.  
(Which is kind of a pity, as I'm a college student and could use it)  
Please don't sue me. I have about 32 cents to my name and it's in Elbonian currency.

Find previous chapters

My Homepage: http/ site: http/tannim. the Small Things--Chapter 7

A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 Crossover

By: Slacker 

Haruka crouched in the undergrowth, her weapon held loosely in her right hand. She knew her enemy was close by. All she had to do was wait and she'd have her revenge. She smirked as she flipped her weapon to full auto.

She eased a branch of the bush she was hiding behind out of her line of sight with the tip of her weapon. She grinned. Wearing bright red was NOT a good idea in the woods. Not that she was going to tell her enemy that. Oh, no. Not a chance. Not until well AFTER her vengeance was complete.

PHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUT PHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUTPHUT  
A stream of paintballs shot towards the spot of red and impacted with a series of splats. Haruka's grin grew into a smirk as she stood and walked over.

"So, Ranko, who's gonna beat who?" Haruka called. There was no reply. There was no movement from Ranko at all, in fact. Haruka's brow furrowed. "Ranko?"

Haruka started to move a bit quicker. "Ranko? You there"  
If I hit her with paintballs while she was hurt, Usagi will never let me forget it.

"Ranko?" Haruka dropped to the ground beside the still figure,  
then dropped her paintball gun to reach out and touch it. She received no response. She slowly rolled the body over.

And revealed Ranko's shirt, pants, and a red wig tied to a bundle of sticks and grass. Behind and to both sides of her, Haruka faintly heard several somethings hit the ground.

"Ah...Dammit!" Haruka managed to utter before the paint grenades went off.

Above her in a tree, well out of the grenades splatter range,  
Ranko grinned and considered. 

"Add humiliation to insult?" Ranko paused. "Ah, why the hell not."

PHUT Haruka had to fight to keep from screaming in frustration as the paintball hit her in the facemask. Ranko chuckled, then went to get her teammate out of the other tree. 

Haruka glowered at Ranko as she landed in front of her. Hotaru climbed off of Ranko's back and giggled.

"You never said anything about grenades." Haruka ground out.

"Hey, it was Hotaru and me against everyone else. You think I wouldn't have given us an edge?" Ranko smirked. "At least you didn't catch one in your chest like Makoto did. Turns out Hotaru's got an arm on her."

"You cheated." Haruka snarled as Ranko started to put her clothes back on.

"Losers call it cheating. Winners call it 'effective use of unconventional tactics.' Deal with it." Ranko retorted as she finished closing her shirt. "Shall we go?"

Haruka opened her mouth to retort with a suitably nasty reply,  
but stopped when she noticed the look of pure joy on Hotaru's face.  
Haruka had no compunctions about ripping Ranko a new one, but there was no way that she would destroy Hotaru's fun to do it.

"Yeah, let's go." Haruka grumbled.

Haruka was fully expecting to see the rest of the group waiting for them when she stepped out of the woods. However, she wasn't expecting to see most of them with the majority of their bodies presented in Technicolor. Makoto was the worst, with a red stain the covered the entirety of her front. Haruka glanced over at Ranko.

"Let me guess. Hotaru had LOTS of grenades." She commented wryly.

Ranko just grinned evilly.

"Thought so." Haruka shook her head.

As Haruka got closer, she was met by knowing looks from the rest of the girls. Everyone except for Setsuna just looked at her, then at each other and nodded. Haruka grinned ruefully.

"I swear I'll pay you back for this." She muttered out of the side of her mouth, still grinning.

"Bring it on." Ranko calmly challenged, a small smile playing across her mouth.

Haruka just snorted.

"Ranko? Could I talk to you for a second?" Setsuna's voice rang out from where she was leaning against the van. 

"Yeah! I'm comin'!" Ranko called as she jogged over.

"Whaddya want?" Ranma asked as soon as she got close to Setsuna.

"The Amazon contingent is on its way to Tomobiki. I presume the rest of your fiancees and foes are a short ways behind." Setsuna announced calmly. Ranma paled, and then narrowed her eyes.

"I won't ask how you got that information. Can I use your cell?" Ranma asked. "I need to make a call."

Setsuna handed it over wordlessly. Ranma flipped it open and rapidly dialed a number.

"Jun? Yeah, it's me. Is Ichiro there? Damn. Listen, tell him that those options we discussed are going to have to be put to good use. Yeah, Tomobiki's shot already. Thanks, Jun. Give your kids a hug for me." Ranma slapped the phone shut and handed it back. "Well, that's that."

"Who was that?" Setsuna asked, raising an eyebrow as she replaced her phone in her purse.

"An old friend who owed me a favor." Ranma replied.

"And that's all I'm going to get?"

"And that's all you're going to get." 

Setsuna considered for a few seconds, then nodded. "I can live with that. Shall we go play some more paintball?"

"'We'? Are you getting involved?" Ranma asked.

Setsuna simply lifted her paintball gun in response. Ranma grinned.

"Excellent."

"How the HELL does she do that?" Ranko grumbled, as she plopped down under a tree next to the rest of the girls.

"Got you too, eh?" Haruka asked from her spot by Michiru.

"Yeah. Didn't even see her." Ranko leaned her head against the tree. "It was freaky. She shouldn't be able to do that!"

"Do what?" 

"YAAAA!" Ranko screamed and whirled to face Setsuna. "That!  
How DO you do that!"

Setsuna let a ghost of a smile flicker across her lips. "I have my ways. Now, however, it's getting dark. We should be getting home."

Ranko blinked, then stared at Setsuna's facemask. "Setsuna?  
Just how did someone nail you?"

Setsuna's voice was dry as she answered. "Usagi tripped." 

Setsuna glanced into the rear-view mirror, then to the passenger side of the van. "My, I wasn't expecting everyone to be asleep THAT quickly."

Ranma didn't even look up as she spoke. "I'm not. I'm just REALLY good at faking it. Learned in my classes."

Setsuna shot her a look. "You only pretended to sleep through your classes? What about your grades? To be quite frank, they suck."

"Hey, I managed passing grades after being stuck in China for three years. Cut me some slack. Besides, I only slept through classes I didn't need. Hell, I know English BETTER than our teacher." Ranma retorted.

"Yes, I suppose being dragged all over the place by that useless moron you call a father would enable you to learn a great deal"  
Setsuna acknowledged.

Ranma sat up and looked over at her with a flat look. "Look,  
my pops is an idiot. I'll admit that. But, he's also one of the best fighters you'll ever meet. The techniques he invented are so potent that not even Happosai wanted to mess with them. He invented training methods that, while totally insane, were VERY effective.  
So, while he is a moron, he's not useless."

Ranma paused for a few seconds, and then continued. "Heck,  
he makes a GREAT paperweight."

Setsuna started to chuckle. "Yes, I'll admit that. Genma Saotome would make a great paperweight."

In the very back of the van, Ami smiled slightly. She'd been trying to do some research on Ranko, but had run into several snags.  
Namely, Ranko had NOTHING to trace her by. Her history was squeaky-clean. No fighting in school, no missed classes, no troubles of any kind, nothing. Ami just plain didn't believe that from what she knew of Ranko. 

Now, she had a name to look for. Soon, she'd know just who Ranko really was. 

Setsuna glanced at the mirror and caught Ami's little smile.  
Perfect. That should give her enough to find what she needs to know. Now, to deal with her thinking that she could eavesdrop on me.

Setsuna smiled as she subtly jerked the van a little. In the back seat, Makoto's sleeping form slumped against Ami. And then proceeded to wrap an arm around her and snuggle her face into the side of Ami's neck. Ami rapidly began to turn several shades of red.

Okay, I can deal with this. All I have to do is push her and she'll lean against Minako. Ami glanced at Makoto, than realized just WHERE she'd have to push to move her. No way. I'd rather she drool on me. I am NOT going to push on her...'talent.  
Nuh-uh.

That resolve was tested when Makoto began to kiss the side of her neck and mumble, giggling every so often. 

"Iria-chan..." Makoto sighed, then fell silent.

Ami blinked. Who in the world is 'Iria?' And why does it sound familiar?

Tendo dojo.

Nabiki leaned back in her chair and listened to her spine pop.  
She smiled to herself. Soon, her biggest moneymaker would be back.  
It had been two weeks since Cologne and the assembled fiancees had departed for Tomobiki. They should be back at any time. The sound of a throat clearing behind her made her smile grow larger.

She turned and smiled at Cologne. "So, how pissed was he that you found him?"

"We didn't." Cologne did NOT look pleased. 

"What?" Nabiki's smile vanished in a flash.

"He wasn't there. Apparently, someone warned him that we were coming. So he disappeared." Cologne started to glare at her.

Nabiki shrugged. She hadn't thought he could make an escape with the time he had, but she was flexible. "I owed it to him. Suffer."

"You seem awfully calm about this." Cologne remarked.

"I'm your best bet of finding him again. What are you going to do to me?" Nabiki grinned.

"I could give you explosive flatulence." 

"Excuse me?"

Cologne just smiled and continued. "Given that your information was incorrect and Ranma was NOT in Tomobiki upon our arrival, I believe you owe me your services until he is located."

Nabiki narrowed her eyes. "Try again. I told you his CURRENT location. I made no guarantees as to how long he would be there or where he would go next. In addition, I was paid to warn him when his hiding place was discovered. That means if you want me to discover where he is currently, you'll need to convince me to find him." And I don't like it when you try to threaten me.

Cologne raised an eyebrow, then reached into one of her sleeves.  
She pulled out something and tossed it on Nabiki's desk. It impacted with a dull thunk.

Nabiki casually glanced over at it, then did a rapid triple-  
take. Her eyes widened. "Is that gold?" She attempted to casually ask. The fact that it came out as a squeak kind of ruined her attempt, however.

"Yes. I believe that will be enough to ensure your best efforts at hunting down Ranma?" Cologne asked needlessly.

"If it proves to be real." Nabiki managed to get out.

"It is. Just find him. Quickly." Cologne commanded as she hopped over to the open window and exited silently.

Nabiki eyed the rather large nugget of gold resting on her desk.  
Hmm, that is a LOT of yen. Why is she in such a hurry to find Ranma?

The Neko-hanten

"Great-grandmother talk to Mercenary Girl, yes?" Shampoo asked as soon as Cologne entered the restaurant.

"Speak a civilized language, girl. I'm not up to listening to you slaughter a language." Cologne commanded.

"But you have to admit, it makes the others underestimate me." Shampoo remarked in their village's dialect then mumbled under her breath. "And it's not like you've ever bothered to tutor me in the damn language or anything."

"That is true." Cologne answered in the same tongue. She decided to ignore the mumble. "However, their opinion will no longer matter if we don't find Son-in-Law in the next few months. It's almost been a year since I became involved, remember."

"I remember. Don't worry. With Nabiki on it, we'll find my husband soon." Shampoo calmly replied.

"We'd better." Cologne declared. "If we don't, the only other option will be to offer him full membership in the tribe."

"But-"

"Don't 'But' me, child! I will have him in the tribe! I will take whatever steps are necessary, even offering him full Warrior status!" Cologne snapped.

"The Council will never approve that!" Shampoo protested.

"Don't be stupid. I trained you to think. Try to use that training. Remember, the Council is fully aware of just WHO killed Saffron and how. Given the choice of never getting him in the tribe or offering him full Warrior status, which do you think the Council will take? Hmmm?" Cologne settled into a chair. "Face it, blood of my blood. They'd drop your claim like it was a pile of donkey manure to get him."

Shampoo slumped against the wall, tears wetting her cheeks.  
Cologne moved over and embraced her gently.

"There, there, child. We'll find him. Besides-" Whatever Cologne was about to say was cut off as someone opened the door and stepped in. Cologne didn't even bother to look up as she snapped,  
"We're closed! Can't you read the sign?"

"I apologize, Honored Elder. However, Potion was most explicit about what would happen to me if I failed to deliver her message as rapidly as possible." A melodic voice answered.

Cologne jerked upright, leaving Shampoo to wipe her cheeks off and compose herself.

Cologne regarded her visitor. She looked like a small girl dressed in a light green shirt and matching pants. Her iridescent green hair, slight body (under two feet tall, in fact), and the way she seemed unable to stay in one place for more than a few seconds all clearly spelled out her true nature.

"You're one of Potion's transformed hummingbirds, aren't you"  
Cologne stated.

"Yupyupyup!" The girl paused in her exploration of the underside of one of the tables long enough to hand Cologne a small gem.

Cologne regarded it coolly. "Are you supposed to wait for an answer?"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Then...shouldn't you be returning?" Cologne asked pointedly.

The girl stared at her for a few seconds, then gasped and took off running. As she exited the building, a pair of wings emerged from under her shirt and carried her off.

Cologne sighed. Potion's hummingbirds were wonderful messengers, but their attention span was almost non-existent after they had finished their tasks. She turned her attention to the gem in her hand. A quick application of chi unlocked the message held in it.

An image unfolded in the air above it. A feminine figure,  
enshrouded by her robe to the point that it was hard to determine even that much, bowed towards Cologne.

Cologne sighed internally. Potion and her blasted 'mysterious mage' impressions.

"Greetings, Elder. I hope this finds you in good health"  
Cologne sighed again and settled in for a long wait. Whenever a message from Potion began like that, it meant she was about to pontificate. 

"I am sending this message to you in order to alert you to a vision I had recently. As I was exploring the far reaches of the Spirit World, at a great danger to myself I should add, I happened to meet a spirit..."

Cologne set the gem on a table and went to get some tea for herself and Shampoo. She decided to brew it the long way. She'd have the time before the message got to the point.

It takes at least two hours to PROPERLY make tea, in Cologne's opinion. She decided to take a bit longer. She carried out two cups when she had finished, giving one to the busily cleaning Shampoo.  
On the table, the image was saying something about 'facing the Gates of Perdition and Evil Incarnate.'

"Why can't she include a fast-forward feature on those things"  
Shampoo muttered.

Cologne shook her head. "I don't know. But it's been a few hours. She should be getting to the point soon."

"...And that was when the TRUE form of the vision made itself clear!" The image announced triumphantly.

"Finally!" Cologne sighed.

"The vision was simple: A stallion changed into a warrior with an old soul. He faced a great darkness, ancient and evil. At his right side walked a woman of great power and knowledge. At his left, a child who could destroy all that is. Behind him, a group of warriors, prepared to give their all to defeat the darkness"  
Potion's image paused. "To be perfectly frank, I don't know the exact meaning of the vision. I tried to find out more, but failed.  
All I could discern was the fact that it involved you. Also...whoever the horse warrior is, his heart and soul belongs to an Amazon."

Cologne and Shampoo shared a look and a smile. Perfect. For all of her other faults, Potion NEVER got a vision interpretation wrong. Ever. Ranma was theirs.

Setsuna's house.

Ranma dropped into bed and sighed. The last two weeks had been fun. He was with people who didn't try to kill him, manipulate him, or force him into things. Admittedly, he wasn't enjoying the MASSIVE load of schoolwork Setsuna was shoveling onto his shoulders, but she was also tutoring him in the material. Heck, she made it fun. She managed to find a way to relate everything he was learning to martial arts, in one form or another. Most evenings were spent closeted in her office, either going over his lessons or planning what to do next in the Senshi's training.

In addition, she was sparring with him on a regular basis,  
usually every morning before he woke up Haruka. And she was good.  
VERY good. She could probably give Cologne or Happosai a decent workout. Of course, he was better. Even so, he couldn't wait to see the looks on the Nerima crew next time he fought them. 

In addition, his first students had been getting better at a nearly unbelievable rate. In fact, if Setsuna hadn't explained just WHY they were learning so fast, he'd have been slightly worried.  
She said that his teaching was making them remember what they had learned in their past lives.

Hell, he hadn't even known that past lives existed. You learn something new every day.

And every night, for that matter. For the last two weeks, he had experienced intensely vivid dreams every...single...night!  
It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that the same guy kept showing up in every last one. And he was really annoying.  
What kind of a person named himself 'Nemesis', anyways?

Ranma blinked. He was standing in an empty courtyard. Looking up, he could see the Earth hanging in the sky. He sighed, then dropped to the ground by the simple method of doing the splits.  
He ignored the leg that shot over his head and snapped his right fist back as hard as he could.

A deeply satisfying crunch, a labored in-drawing of breath,  
and a pained squeak resulted.

Ranma got to his feet, adjusted his pants and turned around.  
Nemesis was standing in a slightly hunched over stance, trying not to wince.

"Damn, that felt like it must have REALLY hurt." Ranma happily noted.

"Where-" Nemesis coughed, then started again. "Where the hell did you get brass knuckles?"

"It's MY dream, buddy. You do the math." Ranma lifted his right hand and adjusted the brass knuckles. "And you almost ALWAYS open with that kick from behind me."

"Right. Mind if I lay down and try to remember how to breathe?"

"Not until I get some answers." Ranma firmly answered.

"Ah, forget it." Nemesis shook his head and straightened out. "Nice punch."

"Thanks. I suppose you're going to attack me now?"

"Am I getting that predictable?"

"Yes." Ranma answered flatly.

Nemesis shrugged. "Oh my. That's a bad thing."

Ranma blinked, and Nemesis vanished. Ranma immediately wrapped himself in the Umisen-ken and reached out with his chi, but found nothing. Ranma smiled slightly. This was going to be...fun.

To anyone watching, the fight would have been extremely dull.  
A shimmer in the air here, a flicker of shadow there, and a variety of attacks shooting out at apparently random moments.

Ranma was having the time of his life. Nemesis was faster than he was and a nastier fighter. Ranma was quicker at devising new tactics and had almost a decade fighting against one of the dirtiest fighters on the planet. And fighting against Happosai and Cologne had taught him a few tricks, too. He almost never used them, but what the hell. It was a dream. Might as well have some fun.

"Happodaikarin!" BA-BA-BOOM

"CHAOS LANCE!" KA-ZAKT

"Aura blast!" THOOM

"CHAOS FLARE!" FWOOSH

"You know, this really isn't doing it for me. It's rather boring, in fact. What do you say we just go hand to hand?" Nemesis called from a shadow.

"Works for me." Ranma said, dropping the Umisen-ken. Nemesis smiled and stepped out of the shadows. Both of them grinned.

"Let's rock this place." Nemesis stated.

Ranma let his body do the talking for him. He rushed towards Nemesis and arced into his near-trademarked leap kick. Nemesis slapped his kick to the side and responded with a punch to Ranma's back as he passed by. Ranma hit the ground rolling and came out of it in a ready stance facing Nemesis.

Nemesis left him no time to attack again as he charged in, leading with a flurry of kicks and punches. Ranma deflected a left jab, blocked the follow-up right cross, and used the roundhouse kick that followed as an opportunity trap his leg and nail him with a quick shot to the side of the knee. Nemesis responded by ignoring the leg-hold and took advantage Ranma's immobilized left arm with a nasty jab to the face. Ranma gritted his teeth as he felt his nose reduce itself to several pieces from the blow.

Ranma dropped the leg-hold and jumped back. Nemesis fell back a bit as well, favoring his hurt leg a little. Ranma reached up and shifted the position of his nose back into something close to what it should be. Nemesis raised an eyebrow.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Only the first three or four times." Ranma replied lightly.

"Well, that's true." Nemesis allowed, before running at Ranma.

Ranma faded back, and let Nemesis throw his punch. Then he dropped to the ground, slammed his left leg into the back of Nemesis'  
calves and whipped his right leg around and into the front of his thighs. Nemesis dropped back, rolled with the impact, untangled his legs while rolling, and flipped to his feet just in time to have Ranma perform discount dentistry via a spinning back kick.

Nemesis hit the ground, then quickly rolled to the side to avoid letting Ranma rearrange his face with a knee drop. He continued the roll to gain distance, then regained his feet. He turned his head to the side and spit a few small, white objects into his hand.  
He raised an eyebrow, then tossed the teeth over his shoulder.

"Okay, now I'm angry."

Ranma simply smirked and charged. His quick punch combo was easily deflected, the follow-up kick and knee strike was as well,  
but the punch to the side of the head landed nicely. Ranma slipped his head to the side to avoid a fast jab, and responded with a palm strike to the sternum. That earned him a snap kick to the knee. He slid back to get out of range, then dashed in. He wove to the outside of a left punch, slapped the elbow up with his left hand,  
and unloaded an Amaguriken-level set of punches to the ribs. A series of loud snaps resulted.

Nemesis responded to the assault with a side kick to Ranma's sternum. The force of the blow sent Ranma skidding across the courtyard. Ranma clutched at his chest as he stood and tried to ignore the fact that he could FEEL several ribs shift as he moved.  
A quick inspection with his fingers revealed the damages: Cracked sternum, eight broken ribs. 

Well, breathing's gonna be fun. Ranma thought ruefully.  
Knew I shouldn't have gone for those last few punches.

Nemesis charged in. Ranma quickly shunted the pain to the back of his mind and tossed a quick right jab, then a left. Nemesis caught both and held them under his arms, immobilizing them. Nemesis drew his head back slightly in preparation for a head-butt, but Ranma beat him to the punch by slamming a quick couple of head-butts in, followed by giving Nemesis a savage knee to the groin. That earned Ranma a head-butt to his already broken nose (which hurt like hell), but also made Nemesis let him go.

Ranma and Nemesis drew back and studied each other. 

"Hey, your nose is broken again." Nemesis taunted.

"So is yours." Ranma called back.

"What?" Nemesis reached up to his face and felt his nose. "Well, damn. You know, you usually aren't this nasty in a fight."

Ranma shrugged. "Usually, I don't need to be. Kuno, Mousse,  
Ryoga, none of them are actually dangerous enough that I NEED to get mean. Besides, you can take it. They can't."

"What makes you think I can take it?" Nemesis asked calmly.

"The fact that you're not coughing up blood. The punches to your ribs should have punctured your lung. Considering the fact that I FELT them do just that, I'd say you can take some serious punishment." Ranma coldly stated.

"Good call." Nemesis acknowledged, then dashed towards Ranma again. Ranma simply smiled and sank into a ready stance, favoring his ribs.

Hotaru snapped awake in an instant, then shot a glance around her room. Something was happening. She could feel it. Something weird. She could feel some kind of familiar energy, but couldn't remember where she had felt it before.

She was about to get out of bed when the feeling abruptly faded. She sat up, slightly alarmed by the sudden cessation of the sensation.

"What was that? Maybe I should tell Setsuna-mama"  
Hotaru wondered and then realized what time it was. "Two in the morning? It can wait."

If Hotaru had actually managed to follow the emanations to their point of origin, she would have been surprised at how close the source was. About twenty feet from her, in fact. Ranko's room,  
to be precise.

If she had actually entered Ranko's room, she would have been VERY surprised. You don't usually see someone twitching and jerking as a corona of black energy cocooned them, after all.

Ranma snarled to himself as Nemesis charged in. The fight was about to get really nasty. With his ribs more or less reduced to free-floating lung puncture devices, he had five minutes left, tops.  
He narrowed his eyes. Alright, let's see how you handle some Yamasen-ken.

Nemesis started with a nice, simple left jab. Ranma responded with a move that was anything but nice and simple.

"FIERCE TIGER OPENING GATES BLOW!" Ranma slapped both of Nemesis' arms out wide and slammed a foot to his sternum. Taking advantage of the opening, Ranma stepped in and drove his stiffened hand into Nemesis' stomach.

"WELCOME GATE IRON FAN FINGERS!" Ranma was careful not to use full power behind his blow. He just wanted to win the fight, not kill. As Nemesis staggered back from the fierce assault, Ranma finished with the third move in his combo.

"ASSAULT OF THE ENRAGED BEAR!" Ranma slammed two ponderous overhand strikes into Nemesis' collarbones, resulting in distinct cracking noises, followed by a hard strike to each side of the face,  
and culminating in a hammer fist to the forehead. The front kick to Nemesis' right hip wasn't supposed to be in the technique, but Ranma never could leave a technique unmodified. Nemesis flew back and hit the ground limply.

Ranma sank to the ground. "Heh. Said it once, said it a thousand times. 'Ranma Saotome-"

"'-Doesn't lose.' Yeah, so I've heard." Nemesis' voice interjected. Ranma snapped his gaze to where Nemesis SHOULD have been contemplating all the pretty stars. He was getting up, seemingly unharmed.

"H-how?" Ranma stammered out.

"Think about it. You said it yourself." Nemesis smirked,  
than continued. "All of this is just... Come on, work with me!"

"A dream." Ranma breathed. Of course. How the HELL could I have forgotten that!

"Finally remembered that, did you?" Nemesis sarcastically drawled. Ranma glared at him as he stood, pain forgotten and removed in a heartbeat. 

"You haven't figured it out, have you." Nemesis stated.

"Figured out what?" Ranma demanded.

"Why I'm here. In your dreams, that is. Why I keep pestering you. Think about it. Yeah, I know it's a difficult task. Do it anyways." Nemesis commanded.

Ranma glared at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Nemesis began to walk around Ranma, talking all the while. "It's really fairly obvious, if you bother to put together all the facts. All those dreams you have of fighting youma. Your blackouts.  
Why your life is such a chaotic hellhole. Who am I. Think. REMEMBER." The last word was spoken with intense command.

Nemesis stalked towards Ranma until he was standing face-to-  
face with him. "Why do I know you? THINK, Ranma. Why do I remember how Genma tied you to the back of a train to teach you to run faster?  
Why do I know what it felt like when you broke your arm the first time you tried to roof-hop?" 

Nemesis dropped his voice to a harsh whisper. "More importantly, why do you remember what Venus looked like at night?  
Why can you remember the way Queen Serenity looked when she let her hair down? Why do you remember Beryl? Prince Endymion? Kunzite?  
Arik? Ella? Rianna? Ice? Why can you remember the passcodes to bypass the Royal Palace's security system?"

As Nemesis spoke, images ripped through Ranma's mind like jagged saw blades. People, places, things, occasions, none of them his, yet he knew all of them. He reached up and grasped the sides of his head. Nemesis continued even as Ranma started to shake his head in an attempt to make sense of the images. Finally, Nemesis reached out, grabbed Ranma's head, and forced him to meet his gaze.

"THINK, damn it! REMEMBER! Our Queen is in danger! How do you know me! How do you know my fighting style! WHO AM I!" Nemesis finished in a scream.

Ranma stared into his eyes like a deer facing headlights.  
He couldn't blink, couldn't turn away as those eyes gazed into his soul and ripped out memories of another soul, another being to lay them out where all could see.

"Who am I?" Nemesis whispered softly. Ranma slowly opened his mouth. Slowly, he spoke in a thin, faint voice.

"You are Nemesis. The Senshi of Chaos. Bodyguard to the Royal Family. Protector of Queen Serenity. Son of Arik. You are"  
Ranma's voice trailed off. 

Nemesis nodded. "I am..."

Ranma swallowed, then hesitantly continued. "You're...me."

Nemesis smiled widely as he released Ranma's head and stepped back. "Finally."

Nemesis began to laugh loudly, throwing his head back and letting loose with a series of deep, full-body guffaws. He abruptly broke them off and stared at Ranma with glee in his eyes. "Do you know what this means?"

Ranma just stared at him in confusion and shook his head. 

"It means it's time to wake up. I'll see you later." Nemesis smiled and waved, then faded away.

Ranma's eyes shot open and she snapped into a sitting position in her bed. The black energy that was rapidly fading away never even registered on her mind. Her dream had already faded from her memory, but something important had happened in it. She could feel it. She could also feel that she wasn't going to get back to sleep tonight.

Ranma shot a glance at the clock as she climbed out of bed. Huh. Three A.M. Weird, just two hours of sleep and I feel fine.

Ranma walked over to the dresser and pulled out a shirt and pants. As she pulled them on, she began to plan what to do for the rest of the night. Hmmm, start with a quick run. Fifteen miles should do it. Then, well...I guess I'll hit a pit fight or two. Never hurts to keep in practice and my ready cash could use the boost. And I'd better snag some clothes. These ones are getting too small. 

She shrugged on her shirt and was ready to exit via the window as usual when a thought hit her. Wait. 'Too small'? I'm in my cursed form. These things should be swimming on me!

She shot over to the mirror and stared at her reflection.  
Oh...holy...kamis. I'm huge.

Ranma had to pinch herself repeatedly before she realized that she was indeed awake. She slowly started to take stock of the changes. She was taller. Much taller. She could probably look down on her un-cursed form, in fact. A rough estimate put her at about 5'8". Her hair had lengthened to midway down her back and was still in the pigtail, which was kind of puzzling, as it should have grown out of it as the hair grew. Muscle tone was a bit better, flexibility seemed to be a little higher, and sense of balance was still exactly right. Muscle mass had increased, but she still somehow managed to convey a look of fragility. Her breasts seemed to be the same size, but on the larger frame they didn't seem quite so unusual. Added to the slimmer face, slightly thinner frame, and overall leaner look provided by the last vestiges of baby fat disappearing, and it was likely that anyone from Nerima would have to take a second look to be sure it was her.

In short, she had gone from "very cute" to "stunningly beautiful."

"Oh, man. Kuno'll NEVER leave me alone now!" Ranma groaned,  
then froze. Her voice wasn't the same either. It had deepened.  
Judging from her (rather limited) knowledge on the subject, she put it at somewhere between her former soprano and a mezzo-soprano. 

A sudden fear gripped her and she ran for the kitchen. It seemed to take forever for the water to warm up in the kettle, but it finally did. She grabbed the kettle and rapidly returned to her room. She stared at the kettle for a few seconds, then steeled herself and dumped it over her head.

A familiar tingling washed over her and he sighed in relief.  
Or he would have, if a sudden pain hadn't made him double over. Apparently, his un-cursed form had gained some size too. And shifting into too-small boxers REALLY hurt. Faintly, he could hear a series of rips as his clothing decided that it didn't want to hold together anymore. As his boxers finally gave away, Ranma dragged in a deep breath and whimpered slightly. 

Okay, note to self: Never leave boxers that are a bit snug on my female form on when changing! Ranma groaned as he slowly and painfully rose to his feet, shedding the rags of his clothes as he went.

This time, it was easier to see the changes that had occurred.  
The most obvious was his height. Rough estimate put him at 6'2,  
which was a good two inches over Kuno and Mr. Tendo. His musculature was a bit more defined, but wasn't insanely bulging. His face was thinner, which gave it a more chiseled look and made it look more refined. He had the obvious increases in reach, stride, and center of balance, but no need to adjust his balance, which was downright weird. It was like he'd put on a massive growth spurt, with no advanced notice, no sudden hunger, and no need to get used to it.

Bluntly, he'd gone from "handsome" to "grade A prime beefcake"  
in the space of two hours.

"This...is weird." Ranma murmured in a baritone. Damn it! My real voice changed too! It's like puberty, only quicker!

Ranma grabbed a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around himself, and then wrapped himself in the Umisen-ken just for good measure. He carefully walked out of the room, across the hall, and into the bathroom to get a glass of cold water.

Ranma reached for the cup and was about to fill it when the door opened. He immediately leapt to the ceiling and re-cloaked himself with the Umisen-ken. He started to silently swear as Setsuna walked in. Then he had to fight off a nosebleed as he realized what she was wearing. It was lacey. And small. And sheer in a great many places. And he was in just the right place to remove what few concealing properties it might have had.

Ranma screwed his eyes shut and tried to erase what he had just seen from his mind. He did not need another woman pissed at him. He did not need another person wanting to kill him. He did not need to know that Setsuna's hair color was natural. He REALLY didn't need the last one especially.

Below him, he heard Setsuna fill a glass and drink it, then fill it again. She silently stood there for a few seconds, then began to mumble to herself.

"Damn it, Setsuna! Get a hold of yourself! She's your student!  
No matter how much you want to go in there, rip off her clothes,  
and have mad, passionate sex, you can't give in!" Setsuna began to thump something against the wall. Her head, if Ranma was any judge.  
And he was. However, her next words nearly made him lose his grip on the ceiling.

"I must not seduce Ranko. I must not seduce Ranko. I must not seduce Ranko. I must not cover her in honey, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream just so I can lick it off. I must be good. I must be in control. I will not seduce Ranko." Setsuna drew in a deep breath, then let it out. "Okay, I can do this."

Ranma breathed a silent sigh of relief as Setsuna opened the door and left. He opened his eyes and started to climb down from the ceiling. Luckily, he didn't let go of the Umisen-ken. Setsuna walked back in, this time wearing a robe. Ranma froze. Setsuna pulled a compact umbrella out of her pocket, opened it, then reached outside the door and grabbed something. Ranma had just enough time to wonder what was going on when the bucketful of cold water hit him.

"Next time you hide, remember to hold your breath." Setsuna said with a smile. She tossed him a thermos then turned and walked out.

How long did she know I was there? Ranma wondered as she climbed to her feet and chased after Setsuna. She dumped a portion of the hot water in the thermos over her head, and adjusted the blanket. Setsuna calmly strode down the hallway and into her room.  
When Ranma walked through her doorway, he caught several articles of clothing. In his face, to be precise.

"Those should fit you." Setsuna informed him.

"Ah...right." Ranma said, trying to juggle the clothes without losing the blanket around his waist. "Could you...you know...turn around or somethin'?"

Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Whatever for? After all, I changed in front of you. Turnabout seems fair to me."

Ranma just narrowed his eyes slightly. "Just do it! Please?"

"Oh, all right. But you REALLY need to loosen up." Setsuna commented as she turned. Ranma sighed in relief and quickly dropped the blanket and got dressed. The clothes fit him nearly perfectly.  
Not his usually colors, but that was okay. Why did it seem right to wear a black shirt and pants? And the silver scrollwork on the shirt and pants seemed to fit him, too.

"Okay, I'm done." 

"So I noticed." Setsuna remarked. Ranma looked over towards her. She still had her back turned and was staring at...a mirror.  
A mirror that he could see her in. And if he could see her, then she could...

"Nice butt." Setsuna casually complimented. Ranma started to blush.

"You seem to be taking this pretty well." Ranma commented in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

"I've seen almost everything over the years, Ranma. Besides,  
you're not the first person to suddenly go through a massive growth spurt in this house." Setsuna calmly answered. Ranma snapped his head around.

"Then you know what happened to me?" Ranma asked, a bit desperately. 

"Yes, I do." Setsuna replied, as she walked over to a blanket-covered freestanding mirror. "Brace yourself."

"Wha-?" But Ranma didn't managed to utter anymore, as Setsuna uncovered the mirror and he saw himself. Black pants, black shirt,  
silver scrollwork patterns embroidered up the sides of both the pants and shirt, and on his forehead...

A sigil etched itself in ebon flames. An upside-down crescent moon. Ranma stared at it. He slowly walked forward and touched his hand to the mirror. He traced the sigil's image. The memory hit him like a freight train.

Flash.

Jump to the left. Avoid the lightning from the Chaos storm overhead. Jump over the Cat, fist to the spine as I go. I smile at the sound of bone shattering under my fist. Roll under its death-strike. Kick off the rock spire to my left, avoid the creeper plant vines. I laugh as the vines snag the body of the Cat. 

I climb the wall to my home. I slip in the entrance. He's there. My father. He greets me with a smile and a hug.

"Hello, Arin. How was your day?"

I am four years old.

Flash.

I place the last rock on the grave of my father. As I ponder the grave for a few moments, I wonder at the lapse in the omni-present Chaos storms. It's as though Nemesis itself mourns with me. I turn and walk away. I never look back. In my brain,  
I can hear his voice.

"One day, son, I will die. On that day, I want you to grieve.  
Then move on. Don't worry about what might have been, only what will be. You can't change the past. Bury me and move forward. Never look back. Ever."

I pick up my pack and put it on as I walk. I already know my goal. My father's ship. With it, I can get off-planet. I have a mission. I can feel the pull. My Princess has been born. She needs me. I will go to her. Nothing will stop me.

I am seven years old.

Flash.

I kick the panel in rage. It is totally destroyed. I cannot repair it. Very well. I will launch without it. After all, I don't need artificial gravity.

I walk down the hall to the cargo bay. Once there, I prepare my meal from the small amount of supplies left.

I will be ready to take off tomorrow. Hopefully, the ship won't break up upon exit. It holds everything I have left of my father.

Flash.

I can feel it. A shining beacon to my senses. The Ginzuisho.  
I weave the spell to teleport to it. 

As my vision clears, I see her. My Queen. Father was right about her hair. It was a ridiculous sight. I open my eyes to her aura and am humbled. Father was right about that, too.

I kneel and present myself.

I am eight years old.

Flash.

I close my eyes and center myself. I must focus. The Elders aren't to be taken likely. I can feel my Queen arrive overhead.  
There are others with her. Very well. I can deal with that.

I walk up the tunnel and into the Coliseum. Uranus and the rest of the Elders are waiting for me. In my memory, I hear my father's words.

"At times, you will face opponents stronger than you. Tougher than you. Faster than you. Smarter than you. In order to beat them, you must have a greater drive to live than them. You must be willing to go farther, fight longer, and endure more. You must never even CONSIDER losing."

I speak. "Uranus!"

Flash.

My ribs hurt. I can't see out of my left eye. I can feel internal bleeding. It's hard to breathe. 

I reach over and rip the top off of a bench. Uranus takes an astonishing amount of damage before she goes down. Mars does too.  
I hope neither of them are seriously hurt.

I walk over to my Queen and bend over her hand. I have to force back the blackness when I straighten. After she dismisses me, I take Pluto's hand. A shock runs through me at the contact.  
To cover for my surprise, I state something trite about her hair.

I barely make it to my room before I pass out.

I am eleven years old.

Flash.

I watch my Princess fall to her knees. I force myself to wait.  
After a few seconds, I go and comfort her. As she runs off, I turn to address my Queen.

I am thirteen years old.

Flash.

I land on the dusty soil of Mimas and ensure nothing has revealed my presence. I can feel Sailor Jupiter. I slowly unwind the chain from my left arm.

By the time I find Jupiter, the chain is more red than silver.

I am sixteen years old.

Flash.

I wave goodbye to my mother from my position on my father's shoulder. We're going to go train.

Flash.

I laugh with my charges as Mercury cuts through the brawler's guard like one of her knives goes through steel. Three seconds later, the man is, appropriately enough, out cold.

I gather our winnings and lead the way out of the town and into the Jovian wilds. 

Flash.

I laugh with my friend as I win another okonomiyaki.

Flash.

I see the surprise on my Queen's face when I present her daughter and her bodyguards.  
Flash.

I scream as my father throws me to the cats again.

Flash.

I stare down at the black-haired bundle in my hands. Briefly,  
the sigil of Saturn flares on her brow.

Flash.

I feel my body changing as I surface from the spring. A single glance is all I need. My scream fills the air.

Flash.

I stare at the sun from the balcony of my room. Something is wrong. Something has disturbed the prison.

Flash.

I prepare myself for Herb's attack.

Flash.

I glare at the red-head across the table from me. There's something behind her green eyes that I don't like, don't trust. Serenity won't listen to me, however.

Flash.

I balance on the blade and hold my mother to my chest. Below me, I hear the sea, around me whispers the wind. I am at peace.

Flash.

I stand on the surface of my planet and scream in rage and pain as my own power rips it to pieces.

Flash.

I hover in the air and scream in rage and pain as my attack freezes and shatters Saffron.

Flash.

I stare up at the sky. I can no longer see the Earth. The entire sky is black. Mettalia is free. I can feel my Princess'  
life drain away. I can feel my Queen prepare to cast a final spell with the last of her life energy.

I have failed. 

I have failed. 

I have failed.

Flash. I am the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts. I am Sailor Nemesis. I have many fiancees.I have one who completes my soul. I have many enemiesI have many enemiesIamRanmaIamArinFLASH

STOP

I am...myself.

I am...whole.

Darkness.

Ranma opened his eyes. A face met his gaze. A very familiar face. 

"Hi. How's the head?" Nemesis asked calmly. Ranma groaned.

"What the hell happened to me?"

"I'd guess that you received one too many memories at once. Getting a couple of decades worth shoved into your skull in a few seconds has to hurt." Nemesis answered as he sat down in a chair that appeared from nowhere. Ranma sat up and looked around. As far as he could see, there was an unending gray fog. He looked down.  
Ground of the same color as the fog met his eyes.

"Wait. You'd 'guess'? I though you knew everything"  
Ranma sarcastically remarked. Nemesis snorted.

"Yeah, sure. You know better. Or at least you should. Idiot"  
Nemesis retorted. "I'm you. A little older, a little more experienced, but still you. You know what I know, I know what you know. No more, no less."

Ranma slowly stood up and sat in a chair. He wondered for a second where the chair came from, then dismissed it as unimportant.  
"So, why am I sitting here talking to myself?"

Nemesis grinned. "'Cause schizophrenia beats being alone."

Ranma acknowledged the point with a nod of his head and an answering grin. "So what do we do now?"

"Well, finding out what happened while we were gone would be a good idea. The Senshi are in Eternal forms. They shouldn't be. Not this soon. And we have to find out what happened to Beryl and Metallia. And finding whoever's in charge of the attacks on our Queen and killing him or her sounds nice." Nemesis paused. "However, one 'To Do' REALLY stands out. We need to check on someone."

Ranma looked puzzled for a few seconds, then he realized what Nemesis was talking about. He smiled then slowly shook his head.  
"Man, that is going to take some getting used to."

Nemesis shrugged. "At least you're not in denial."

"Kinda hard to be in denial about something I can remember in photographic detail." Ranma answered. He frowned at the darkness surrounding them. "So, how do we get out of here?"

Nemesis smiled enigmatically. "How do YOU think we get out of here?"

Ranma smirked. "You don't a have a clue, either."

"Nope!" Nemesis cheerfully replied. Ranma shook his head, then winced and rubbed his cheek. 

"Why the hell does my cheek hurt?" Ranma muttered angrily.

Setsuna sighed and continued to lightly slap Ranma's cheek.  
"Come on, wake up." She smiled as Ranma groaned and began to stir.  
"Finally."

Ranma opened his eyes and blinked repeatedly. He sat up slowly and started to rub his cheek, grumbling. "Why the hell were you hitting me? Crazy chick."

Setsuna twitched. "'Crazy chick'? You are going to pay for that." She mumbled under her breath. Ranma suddenly felt an unexplainable chill, but shrugged it off as he stood up and walked towards the door. Setsuna gracefully rose to her feet as well.

"Where are you going?"

Ranma grinned. "I'm going to check on someone. Wanna take a guess who?"

"I don't need to. She's asleep, you know." Setsuna commented.

Ranma just grinned and walked towards the door. As he went a wave of black energy rippled over him, transforming him to Nemesis.  
He walked into the hallway and strode down it like he owned it. As he went past the bathroom, he paused. 

"You know, Uranus, I'm pretty sure that you should probably wear clothes when you go to get a drink. Oh, you still have that birthmark on your shoulder. Cool." Nemesis waved as he continued his trek. Haruka burst out of the bathroom, hastily wrapping a towel around herself as she went.

"What is he doing here?" She demanded of Setsuna.

Setsuna just glanced at her and walked past. Michiru, hearing the noise, opened the door of Haruka's room and leaned out.

"What's going on out here? What is he doing here!" She hissed towards Haruka. Haruka just mutely shrugged and followed Setsuna and Nemesis. Setsuna paused at Hotaru's doorway. Haruka and Michiru joined her and looked in.

Inside, Nemesis was standing over Hotaru as she lay sleeping.  
She had kicked off her covers and was shivering slightly. He smiled,  
and gently drew the blankets up to her shoulders and tucked them under her. He leaned over, brushed the hair away from her face, and cupped her cheek. The sigil of Saturn glowed briefly on her forehead as he drew his hand back.

"Setsuna, what is going on? What is he doing here?" Haruka softly demanded.

Setsuna smiled slightly as she answered. "It's simple, really.  
He's tucking his daughter in for the night."

End Chapter 7 TBC... Author's notes

I had a LOT of fun with this chapter. I particularly enjoyed the "stream of consciousness" flashback sections. I've always enjoyed writing in that style. 

Cliffhanger? Sure, why not! Heck, I LOVE those too!

As always, ANY C&C is appreciated! Heck, I even read flames!

Ja Ne! Slacker draft: 06/15/01 Beta draft: 07/26/01

And, just for reading this far...AN OMAKE!

"Okay, I'm done." 

"So I noticed." Setsuna remarked. Ranma looked over towards her. She still had her back turned and was staring at...a mirror.  
A mirror that he could see her in. And if he could see her, then she could...

"Nice butt." Setsuna casually complimented. Ranma started to blush. Setsuna snickered and turned away, then gasped as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.

"Same to you." Ranma whispered in her ear, then began to nibble on her earlobe. Setsuna gulped as his hands began to wander.

"Mad, passionate sex sounds like a good idea right now, you know." She stammered out.

"Mmmm-hmmm. Too bad this is just an Omake."

"Damn author."

"Yup."

OMAKE #2! (Just 'cause you guys are special! This one was written by Tom Ladegard. Blame him, not me. Or something.)

Ranma's eyes shot open and she snapped into a sitting position in her bed. Or at least tried to. The black energy that was rapidly fading away never even registered on her mind. Her dream had already faded from her memory, but something important had happened in it. She could feel it.

She could also feel that she wasn't going to get back to sleep tonight. While the previous feeling was somewhat vague, almost mystical, this one seemed to come from a more definitive source.

Maybe it was her lack of clothes. Or the silk cords fastening her to the corners of her bed. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the look on Setsuna's face as she sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in something that seemed mostly to be lace and imagination, and in a quiet voice announced, "Remedial Sexual Education pop quiz." 


	9. All the Small Things Chapter 8

All prior chapters are stored at my homepage: http/ you can also go to Tannim's site: http/tannim. I own NOTHING. No, seriously. I'm college student.  
I literally own nothing. Among the many things I do not own are Ranma 1/2, which is owned by Viz, Rumiko Takahashi, and several large corporations who could grind me under their heels. I also do not even come CLOSE to owning Sailor Moon, as they're mini- skirted likenesses are owned by Kodansha, Naoko Takeuchi, and whichever American company has decided to buy the rights to it so they can slaughter the translations. (Cousins? snort)

Anyways, just read the fic. Please?  
All the Small Things--Chapter 8

A Sailor Moon/Ranma 1/2 X-over

By: Slacker Setsuna's house

"HE'S WHA-MMMPHH!" Haruka's scream was cut off by a black-  
gloved hand covering her mouth. Nemesis moved his face in close to Haruka's.

"Sssshhh. You'll wake her up." Nemesis softly whispered,  
holding an index finger over his lips. He jerked his head towards the hallway. "Out."

Haruka slowly backed into the hallway. Michiru and Setsuna stepped out as well. Nemesis stepped out and softly closed the door behind him. He glanced at Setsuna.

"How's she sleeping? Any dreams? Nightmares?" 

Setsuna shook her head. "No. She sleeps like a baby. Why?"

Nemesis frowned and muttered. "Her precognition has altered."

"What?" Haruka asked.

"Her precognition has altered. Every Chaos mage has some kind of precognition. My father knew the exact time, place, and method of his death since the moment he was born. I'm a psychometric.  
Mara always dreamt of her next kill. It never let her sleep well"  
Nemesis explained.

"Errr...'Mara'?" Michiru queried.

"Saturn." Nemesis snapped his fingers a couple of times. "Hotaru. You know, my daughter?"

Haruka blinked. "Her name was Mara?"

Nemesis grinned. "Yeah, rolls off the tongue, don't it?"

"This is fascinating, really it is. However, I'm a bit more interested in this 'father' bit." Michiru interjected in a calm voice.

"I am her father. She's my daughter. It's that simple. I'll begin training her to use Chaos soon." Nemesis responded calmly.

"Like hell you will. You'll keep your overly-violent,  
psychotic, sociopathic self away from her." Haruka hissed.

Nemesis' eyes grew hard and his voice became flat. "She is my daughter. You will not keep me from her. You have no idea how to instruct her in her magic, no idea how to deal with her if she starts to lose control of it, and have absolutely no concept of the most basic aspects of Chaos magic itself! I will see her and I will  
train her. I am your only option. Besides, do you really think you can keep me from her? If you try, I'll show you just why the Queen of Saturn was so terrified of me."

Haruka audibly gulped at the absolute seriousness of his voice.  
Nemesis smiled cheerfully.

"Well, I guess that settles that! I'll see you later!" He happily stated. "Oh, and Uranus? I'd go see a doctor if I were you.  
You seem a bit...pale."

As Nemesis vanished into the nearest shadow, Haruka tried to make her voice work again. Finally, she succeeded. "Rather...intense, isn't he"  
Setsuna slowly nodded. "Yes. It's one of his trademarks in both the past and now. You should never get between him and a goal. Actually, he's not that bad once you get to know him. You just have to get past the outer layer."

Haruka and Michiru stared at her. Disbelief was written across their faces in bold lines. Setsuna shrugged.

"I never said it was EASY to get past his outer layer." She calmly stated as she walked past them and went back into her room.  
She shut her door and started to slip off her robe. She paused,  
then continued getting ready for bed.

As she hung up the robe, she spoke. "Are you going to stand there all night? Or do you have a reason for being here?"

Nemesis chuckled a bit as he stepped out of a shadow. "No, I'm not going to stand here all night. I have more important things to do."

"Like what? Go threaten some kittens? Maybe terrorize a few kindergarteners? Wait, I know! You could hunt down Hello Kitty and hang her from the Tokyo Tower!" Setsuna sarcastically drawled.

"Um...you're pissed at me, aren't you."

"Gee, smart man. You caught onto that in a flash. What the HELL do you think you were doing?" Setsuna demanded.

"Hey, she wants to keep me from my daughter. At least I didn't do anything to her. Yet." Nemesis said nonchalantly. "Anyways,  
there was a different reason I came back here."

"And what would that be?" Setsuna asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "And why won't you look at me?"

Nemesis paused in his study of the walls. "Um, you're not wearing any clothes. Could you pull on a robe or something?"

Setsuna glanced down at herself. "I'm wearing plenty. Besides,  
you've seen me in less. Repeatedly. Just WHY did you feel the need to frequently teleport me to random locations around the Palace without my clothes?"

"I thought you could use some loosening up." 

"Well, now YOU could use some." Setsuna retorted as she reclined on the bed. "So what did you want?"

"Just came to tell you I'm gonna be gone for a bit." Nemesis replied.

"Oh? Where are you going?" It wasn't so much a question as a flat demand for an answer. Setsuna had perfected that trick years ago.

"The Moon." Nemesis soberly answered.

Setsuna nodded. "I see. When will you be back?"

"Won't be for a bit." He reached up and tapped his temple. 

"Got a lot of memories to work out, you know."

Setsuna smiled faintly as Nemesis walk into a shadow and disappeared. Then she rapidly got off the bed, got dressed, and moved down the hall. When she reached Haruka and Michiru's room,  
she opened the door, leaned in, and spoke in a flat, commanding voice.

"You two. Get dressed. Get the other Senshi. Rei's shrine.  
Now." She started down the hall, then paused and leaned back in. "And for the love of the goddess, can't you two ever keep your hands off of each other? Show some discipline!"

Haruka and Michiru scrambled out of bed and raced into the hall. 

"Setsuna, how the hell are we supposed to get the others? It's 3 AM! How are we supposed to explain that to their parents"  
Haruka demanded.

Setsuna paused. "They have communicators for a reason, you know. Don't worry about Rei; I'll wake her up. Now, get cracking.  
It's going to take you a while to wake some of them up." The emphasis in her voice left no doubt who the "some" was referring to. "Make sure you bring Hotaru."

Haruka grumbled and headed back towards her room to get dressed.  
Michiru went to Hotaru's room to wake her up. Setsuna waited until she was out of sight then teleported to Rei's shrine. Once there,  
she calmly walked into Rei's room.

"Wake up." Setsuna commanded, then pulled Rei's blankets off. Rei came up swinging wildly. Setsuna simply moved out of the way and let her get tangled in her sheets. Rei hit the ground in a heap.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" Setsuna calmly asked. Rei groggily got to her feet.

"What are you doing here?" Rei demanded as years of practice allowed her to quickly banish the last remnants of sleep. Setsuna smiled widely.

"Senshi meeting. I need to give you lovely people some information!" She cheerfully announced. 

Rei proceeded to get very worried.

Nemesis looked around at the empty plain he was standing on. Above him hung the Earth. Below him was dust. Around him was nothing but the empty vista of the Sea of Serenity. It was the last part that was angering him.

"This isn't right. The spells maintaining the Palace should have ensured that something would still be here." He muttered as he walked towards the other side of the plain. "What the hell is going on?"

It took three trips across the plain before Nemesis noticed what had been bothering him since he arrived on the Moon.

"Wait a second." He jumped a few feet in the air. "Earth-  
normal gravity. The spells are still here. That means the Palace has to still be here. Now, where is it?"

Nemesis walked over to a boulder and sat down. As he pondered,  
he idly rubbed a hand over the surface of the rock. It took a few seconds for what his fingers were feeling to filter in.

"Smooth rock." He froze. "Smooth rock? On the Moon?"

He jumped to his feet and stared at the boulder. It looked like common moon rock, but he couldn't deny what his fingers had felt. It could only mean one thing.

"An illusion. Of course. I'm an idiot!" He slammed the palm of his hand into his forehead a few times, then paused. "And now I'm abusing myself. I really am an idiot"  
He shook his head, then sat down and closed his eyes. He let his breathing slow as he reached inside himself for his power. He took the power and turned it in, then out in the flow pattern that would enable him to pierce the illusion. He opened his eyes and his breath caught.

"Dear Goddess. It's a total ruin." He slowly walked into what had once been widely considered as the center of the Solar System,  
detailing the damage as he came to it. "Grand Pavilion, gone. Wishing Tower, toppled. The Palace...crumbled. Beryl and Metallia were thorough, I'll give them that much. Hmmm, the main courtyard is still intact."

He walked through the destruction until he reached his goal:  
the Throne Room. Or rather, what was left of it. The destruction was almost total. The only thing that remained were a few of the pillars that once lined the walls. Nemesis slowly made his way towards one that had snapped off and was resting at an angle on the broken base. He stopped a small distance from it.

"Here. Here's where she did it." He slowly sank to the ground,  
anguish in his eyes. He reached out and ran his hand over the surface of the pillar. 

"Why didn't you listen to me?" He asked in a soft voice. "It would have never happened if you had. I wouldn't have failed you."

Nemesis sat and stared at the pillar for a while, then got back on his feet. "Well, I won't fail you this time. I swear it. No matter what I have to do, I will protect your daughter."

He reached over and slowly pulled the black leather gloves off of his hands. He tucked them into his waistband, then slid his right thumbnail across his left palm. A little pressure, a little Chaos,  
and a few words were all it took to create a thin crimson line on his hand. He held his bleeding palm over the pillar where his Queen had died to give him and all her people another chance.

"By my blood and power, I swear I will protect her. I swear it by my name and my heritage. I will not let her come to harm. My blood before hers, my life before hers." Nemesis let three drops of blood fall onto the pristine white of the pillar. As soon as the third drop hit, he felt the effects as his Oath settled on him.

Nemesis gazed at the bloodstained pillar for a few more seconds,  
then pulled on his gloves, turned, and walked away. 

Behind him, a translucent female form briefly shimmered into existence by the pillar. Sad blue eyes gazed at him from below a brow adorned with a golden crescent. A pale hand briefly rested over the blood, then hesitantly reached out towards Nemesis' back,  
but dropped back. 

"I'm sorry, Arin. But it had to be this way." Queen Serenity whispered to the empty air as she faded away.

"Setsuna, it's three-thirty in the morning. Why are we here"  
Makoto grumbled as she tried to get Usagi to stop sleeping on her shoulder. She wasn't very successful. Setsuna sipped at her ever-present cup of tea before speaking.

"Because there's several things I need to tell you. And I'll tell you only once. So sit down, shut up, and listen. Now." The tone of Setsuna's voice managed to even remove Usagi from her state of slumber. 

Setsuna waited until she was certain no one was going to ask any stupid questions, then dropped her bombshell. "Nemesis wasn't fully awake before. Now he is. He has all his memories, all his powers.  
He's going to need a little while to adjust, but after that, he's going to be back completely."

There was silence for a few seconds, then the room exploded in a babble of voices.

"He WHAT"  
"What did you say"  
"Are you joking"  
"Damn it, Setsuna! This isn't funny"  
Setsuna held up a hand and frowned. "I'm not done. I also closed the Time Gates last night."

"I thought they were always supposed to be closed." Ami interjected.

"No, Ami. I mean 'closed' as in 'sealed'. For roughly the next thousand years, give or take a few decades. As of right now, the future is closed to all of us. I can see a little ways, but not far." Setsuna said in the same voice one would use to announce the end of the world.

"Why?" Ami managed to ask through her shock.

In response, Setsuna held out her hand, palm up. A single glowing strand appeared above it, parallel to the floor. "This represents the time stream. It's a single, continuous flow. Every so often, branches will split off." A few glowing threads split from the main body. "These represent possibilities that could be. Usually, they either peter off or rejoin the main stream. At certain times, there are several equally possible futures. For example,  
your final fight with Beryl." The strand split into several equally bright sections, which proceeded to darken until only one was left.  
"It happened at all of your major fights. Ail and Anne, Rubius,  
Wiseman, Nephrenia, Galaxia. Each time, only a few major possibilities were foreseeable."

Setsuna paused, then continued. "And then, Nemesis awoke. And this happened to the stream."

Everyone gasped. In Setsuna's hand the strand was...ripping itself to threads.

Setsuna continued in a too-calm voice. "He's introduced thousands, even millions of equally possible paths. All of them lead to roughly the same destination, Crystal Tokyo, but none of them can be predicted. They're too wild. The only thing Time Gate is good for now is a few days and over a thousand years away. My personal precognition is better than that for the close- range predictions.  
And viewing the myriad of timelines was making the Gate unstable.  
As such, I sealed it until the time stream is calm again."

The room was silent for a few seconds as the Senshi pondered the implications. Finally, Ami broke the silence.

"Setsuna, this might not be the time for it, but I have to know.  
I've asked this before, now I'm asking again. Who is Ranko"  
"What do you mean?" Setsuna calmly responded, banishing the illusion hovering in her palm.

"Setsuna, I made it a policy to do a complete background search on all new students after the Ail/Anne incident. Ranko's past is too perfect. There's nothing there. It's been created,  
I can tell. Plus, I checked on her fighting style. Anything Goes is only practiced by two families on the planet. She claims that Genma Saotome is her father. That makes sense, since the Saotome family is one of those that use Anything Goes. However, Genma Saotome has no daughters. Now, the Satori clan does have a Ranko listed in their records, but no one in the clan has ever heard of her. So, Setsuna, who is she, why is she here, and why are you letting her lie to us?" Ami's voice was flat. 

Setsuna smiled slightly as she spoke. "Good work, Ami. Very good work."

"Who is she, Setsuna. I'm not joking here. I've been burned too many times to let someone I don't know stay this close to us"  
Ami continued in an emotionless voice.

Setsuna smiled again.

"She's Nemesis." Usagi's calm voice stated.

Everyone froze. Setsuna sat her teacup down and slowly spoke. 

"What makes you say that, Usagi?" 

"It's the only thing that makes sense. She shows up, Nemesis shows up. Nemesis is injured in a fight, we find her in a pool of blood. You wouldn't let us take her to a hospital, she's fine the next morning. And I feel like I know her. It has to be. She's like the Starlights, isn't she." Usagi's voice was filled with complete conviction.

Setsuna stared at Usagi for several long minutes. "My Queen,  
sometimes I wonder how I ever could have doubted you. However,  
Ranko is not like the Starlights."

"Then what is she? I'm not joking either, Setsuna. I want to know everything you know about her. Now." Usagi said with unbelievable intensity. "I care too much about all of you to risk you being hurt just because of some secret. Please trust us, Setsuna."

For several long moments, there was utter silence in the room as everyone tried to deal with the changes in Usagi. She wasn't whining, or pleading, or begging. She was stating her reasons in a calm, rational manner and acting with maturity. In short, she was acting like a queen.

While the rest of the Senshi tried to wrap their brains around the surrealness of Usagi acting like the Queen she was, Setsuna began to hope for a miracle to get her out of having to explain certain things.

And then, she received one.

Nemesis smiled as the last set of doors slid open silently.  
The armory had been the most heavily protected and sealed part of the Palace. Which was why it was still in perfect condition. He had to clear a rather large pile of rubble off of the secondary entrance,  
but at least everything was still there. And since everything was still in working order, he hadn't wasted the effort. 

Nemesis moved further into the building, past the racks of swords, spears, axes, shields, and other, more esoteric, weapons.  
He continued until he reached his goal: a simple, gray door set into an out-of-the-way corner. He palmed a hidden latch, revealing a keypad. He tapped in an access code and the door slid open. He moved into the small room beyond the door and waited until the door had shut behind him. A thin red beam of light emerged from a corner and ran itself over his body, then shut off. In the corner of the room, a hidden panel set into the floor opened silently.

Nemesis walked over, reached into the opening, and depressed a hidden switch, ignoring the fancy display panel inset in the bottom of the hole. A small door swung open on the wall to the left of the one he entered by. He counted to three and walked in, ducking under some mono-filament wire as he came.

"Well, nice to see Dad's security still works." Nemesis commented as he surveyed the room. It wasn't much to look at. Just four bare gray walls, a marble floor and ceiling, a screen of some kind on one wall, and a chair by the screen. Nothing that seemed to merit any kind of security.

Nemesis walked over to the wall with the screen and looked it.  
Inset into the wall was a small plaque with the simple statement of "Deus". Below the plaque, someone had used red paint to scrawl "ex Machina." Nemesis chuckled. 

"Still there. Good. How are you doing, Deus?" Nemesis asked conversationally.

"I've been fine. Bored as hell for the last few millennia,  
though." A deep, resonant voice answered. "My only companion was cryo-tubed. You know how boring that conversation gets after the first three thousand years?"

"Cryo-tubed? Who the hell managed to get in here?" Nemesis asked, looking around.

"Your daughter's little friend. On the chair." Deus answered.

"Farow's still alive? Luna won't be pleased to hear that"  
Nemesis chuckled as he moved the chair over to the screen. He shifted the cryo-tube out of the chair and sat down. "All right,  
Deus. I need a run-down of your resources."

"Power reserves are down to 28 of normal, computing has the same loss. My entire information net is down except for a terminal in Juban and the Mercury Computer. I'm so desperate that I've been analyzing the data I get from the Senshi's communicators.  
I've been intercepting radio and TV signals for the last several decades and have been analyzing them, as well." Deus reported.

"Why the loss in computing and power?" 

"The solar panels have been failing steadily."

"So why didn't you fix them?"

"I didn't have authorization to. Remember, I can't access certain parts of my programming without permission. Otherwise,  
I would have rebuilt the Palace by now." Deus said, annoyance evident in his voice.

"Well, fix them. Concentrate on rebuilding your facilities before anything else. Your power and information gathering facilities should be highest priority." Nemesis commanded.

"Oh, thank you for instructing me on how to repair myself"  
Deus sarcastically responded. 

Nemesis lifted an eyebrow. "Problems, Deus?"

"No, Dave. I can detect no problem. It must be human error"  
Deus calmly announced. Nemesis twitched.

"Don't do that."

"Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer true..." Deus began to sing in a distorted tone.

"Damn it! Stop that! It's creepy!" Nemesis yelled. Deus chuckled.

"But, Arin, I feel fine now. Really I do." Deus continued his normal deep voice. Nemesis glared at the screen.

"You done? I have things I need to do, you know."

"What do you need?" Deus asked, instantly all business.  
"You said you had access to the Mercury Computer? Has it been in its default recording mode?" Nemesis asked as he moved the chair closer to the screen.

"Yes, since Mercury became active again. She's also been entering regular reports. I've analyzed all the data from it. Would you like me to summarize?"

"No. That takes too long. I'm in a hurry. Just pump it in"  
Nemesis decided.

"Do I need to remind you of the possible side-effects of a direct computer to brain connection?" Deus asked rhetorically.

"No, you don't. But Ice had the Mercury Computer wired straight into her brain for three-fourths of her life with no adverse side effects whatsoever. So don't try to scare me. Just get me a neural net, a mouth guard so I don't bite through my tongue, and the relevant data." Nemesis commanded impatiently.

"Very well." A panel next to the screen swung down, exposing a thin wire mesh hanging on a hook behind it. Nemesis took the mesh and stretched it over his head, shifting it a bit to get the proper positioning.

"What do you define as 'relevant'?" Deus asked, as his screen began to flicker.

"Anything having to do with the Senshi's battles. Anything having to do with any enemies, allies, or possible problems. All the data on the Senshi. Attacks, power levels, fighting styles, the works. Basically, if it relates to the Senshi in any way, it's relevant. And get me all the data on the Queen and her boy- toy, too." Nemesis answered as he settled himself more firmly in the chair. He reached over to the open panel and removed a mouth guard.  
After placing it in his mouth, he gripped the arms of the chair and issued a simple "Hit me!"

The raw data hit his brain like a sandblaster. Beryl, Ail and Anne, the Black Moon family, all of them rushed into his brain in a tsunami of information. Faces, names, attacks, friends, foes, even pets filled his minds eye. Distantly, he was aware of a splintering sound as his hands spasmed and destroyed the arms of the chair.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the data flow stopped.  
Nemesis sat in the chair, gasping for breath.

"Okay, that was stupid." He groaned. He lifted his hands and slowly picking the splinters out of his palms.

"I warned you. By the way, it appears as though the settings I had for you are no longer accurate. I had to fix them on the fly.  
Sorry about the headache." Deus apologized.

"Headache? What heada-YAH!" Nemesis doubled over, gripping his skull. "Migraine! Major, big time migraine!"

"That one. I told you not to try a direct link." Deus gloated in a satisfied voice.

"Oh, shut up." Nemesis groaned, then froze as a piece of data floated to the top of his brain. He growled under his breath, headache dismissed in an instant. "Those...bitches!"

"What is it?" Deus asked worriedly.

"Galaxia." Nemesis snarled out as he stood, grabbing the cryo-tube as he went. "Uranus and Neptune must PAY!"

"Oh...dear." Deus muttered as black energy played over Nemesis'  
form and he vanished. "That is not good."

All the Senshi whipped their heads around as a loud boom sounded outside the temple. Setsuna sighed softly in relief. She knew that sound. Nemesis tended to be noisy when he teleported via his Senshi powers. Which was why he almost never did it.

The Senshi jumped when the door was suddenly opened and a figure stepped into the room. Nemesis' pleasantly smiling face wasn't what they expected to see, however. He tossed Hotaru a canister roughly eighteen inches long and six inches in diameter. She caught it with a confused look. Nemesis grinned.

"I figured my daughter probably missed her old playmate.  
So I decided to bring him to you." He paused, then turned to face Haruka and Michiru. "Uranus, Neptune. Could I talk to you outside for a second? It's fairly important."

Setsuna lifted an eyebrow as Haruka and Michiru followed Nemesis out the door. "That's quaint. He's learned manners. Wonder what brought that on?"

Usagi stared at the frost-rimmed canister that a bewildered Hotaru was holding. "What is that?"

"Not what, who." Luna answered in a puzzled voice. "That's a class four cryo-tube. It's designed to survive anything and still keep the inhabitant alive. I promise you that there's someone intelligent and important in there. Otherwise, that level of protection wouldn't have been used."

Hotaru opened her mouth, but whatever she was going to say was cut off by the cryo-tube beeping loudly. She dropped it with a small gasp of surprise and moved away from it when the beeping stopped and it started to hiss. The end of the tube irised open, letting a white mist spill out. The mist rapidly disappeared, leaving nothing behind.

Luna slowly started to ease forward. She crept closer to the tube, stopping about a foot away. She paused, then sneezed. Repeatedly.

Artemis started to laugh. Luna glared at him while trying to restrain another sneeze.

"What's so funny? A-A-ACHOO!"

Artemis grinned in that special way that only cats can manage.  
That is to say, with all the arrogance in the world added to a healthy dose of mischievous glee. "Think about it. Small cryo-tube.  
Obviously an intelligent being inside. Saturn's playmate. And you're sneezing. Do that math."

Luna twitched. "Oh, no. Not him. Please not him. Nemesis is bad enough! I don't need HIM, too!"

"Who's 'him'?" Hotaru slowly asked. "And why did Nemesis give that tube to me?"

"Ill tell you later." Setsuna calmly answered, sipping her tea.  
She sat the teacup down, then spoke in a lyrical, flowing language that seemed to tug at the Senshi's memories. There was a pause,  
then a response from the tube in the same language. Luna groaned when she heard the voice. Setsuna smirked at the reply.

"Still vain as ever, I see." She remarked before continuing to speak in the unknown language. After a few minutes of conversation, chanting emanated from the tube. After a few seconds,  
the chanting stopped.

"I'm not coming out."

Everyone jumped at the new voice. It was a light tenor, with an undertone of humor and mischief in it. Artemis snickered.

"Aw, why not?" He teasingly asked.

"Have you seen what a cryo-tube does to my fur?" The voice demanded.

"Hey, I had to go through it. Live with it. It'll settle down soon enough. Get your butt out here, you vain little wuss." Artemis commanded.

"No. Not a chance."

"Saturn's out here. Don't want to look like a wimp in front of her, now do you?" Artemis asked with a snicker.

"You play dirty, you know that?" The voice answered after a pause.

"Yup!" Artemis gloatingly replied.

"Fine. I'm coming out. Laugh and die." The voice muttered.

Everyone looked on in curiosity as the tube rocked back and forth a few times. Finally, something popped out of the end. It was about the size of a small dog, was a reddish-brown, and looked like a giant puff-ball. A pair of hazel eyes gazed out from one end.

"It's a hairball." Minako stated in a calm tone.

"I am NOT a hairball! I am a FOX! Damn it! I knew I should have stayed in that blasted tube." The last was muttered.

"Um...where did you come from?" Hotaru slowly asked, hesitantly reaching out towards the self-proclaimed fox. Frankly, she didn't see the resemblance.

"The Moon. Duh." The fox turned to give Hotaru a scathing glance, then froze. "Mara? It's you!"

Hotaru froze in shock as the fox jumped towards her and started to babble happily while swarming all over her.

"IthoughtyouwereoutpastPlutoandfiguredyouwouldn'tgetbackint imeandsowewerescrewedsoIgotinthetube,butyou'rehere,whichmeanswemu sthavewonandwhereArinandwhere'sSerenityandwhathaveyoubeendoingand whyareyousoYOUNG?" He froze in place on Hotaru's lap and stared at the rest of the Senshi. "Why are all of you so young?"

"Beryl won." Setsuna informed him calmly. "I'll tell you all about it later. Now, introductions are in order. Everyone,  
the fuzzy ball of energy is Farow. He used to be Saturn's pet and familiar. He's another one of Arik's experiments. He's a modified fox. Some other DNA mixed in. We're not sure what Arik put in to make him so annoying, though."

Farow grinned widely under his puffed-out fur. "That's natural.  
Like your hair."

Makoto stared at the hyper-active bundle of fur. "Why did Hotaru have a pet fox?"

"All magical girls should have a cute, furry, talking mascot"  
Farow proudly proclaimed. He paused and looked around. "Hey, where's Arin?"

"He's talking to Uranus and Neptune." Setsuna replied.

"Oh, they must be in trouble, then. He never does that unless he's really pissed." Farow said confidently.

Setsuna paused in the middle of taking a drink from her tea. Her brow furrowed. "Wait. Oh, dear. Ami, is the Mercury Computer on?"

Ami nodded, still staring at the fox sitting in Hotaru's lap.  
He was currently cleaning himself in an attempt to smooth down his fur. It wasn't working too well. "Yes, of course."

"How often do you turn it on?"

"I don't think I've turned it off, actually. Why?"

"Nemesis had some marks across his forehead. There's only one thing that I know of that makes those marks. Check to see if your records have been accessed." Setsuna calmly instructed.

"How did you know I-? Never mind. What am I looking for?" Ami asked, opening the Computer.

"Access from someone named 'Deus'. I don't think he'll have bothered to hide it."

Ami typed rapidly for a few seconds. She finally looked up. "Found it. Whoever he is, he went through everything! How did he get into the Computer?"

Setsuna nodded. "Knew it. Deus is the AI running the Moon's central computer. 'Central' is one of his terminals. Arik programmed him, so he has a few...quirks. Nemesis must have visited him to get information on what he missed. Wait, you said ALL your data was accessed?"

"Yes, that's what it looks like. All my journals, all my reports, looks like everything." Ami answered in a distracted voice, still typing on the Computer.

Setsuna slowly, carefully, asked her next question. "Was your data on Galaxia accessed?" She spoke with the voice of someone who already knew the answer, but was hoping she was wrong.

"Yes, of course. I already told you that. Everything.  
Why?" Ami responded, looking up. "Is it important? Setsuna?"

Setsuna was slowly turning chalk white. And given her tanned complexion, that said a lot. She dropped her teacup, leaped to her feet, and sprinted for the door. "He's going to kill them!"

The Senshi stared as Setsuna ran through the door, nearly ripping it off its runners in the process. There was something inherently wrong about Setsuna running anywhere. It was even more wrong to see actual worry on her face. The fact that there was fear in her eyes...gave them the shivers. Because of that, it took nearly four seconds before anyone reacted.

"'Kill them'?" Ami slowly said. Her eyes went wide. "Oh, no.  
Haruka, Michiru! Galaxia!"

At her words, a connection clicked. Everyone surged to their feet. Not surprisingly, it was Usagi who led the dash to where Nemesis was 'talking' with Haruka and Michiru. It wasn't hard to figure out where it was taking place. It was the direction with the sounds of flesh meeting flesh, flesh meeting wood, and trees swaying as people were slammed into them.

As they got closer to the sounds of fighting, Setsuna's voice screamed out clearly.

"DON'T! SERENITY FORGAVE THEM!"

The silence that followed her scream seemed unnaturally loud. The Senshi ran through the underbrush towards the source.  
They emerged into a clearing to see Setsuna crouched over two still forms. She sat back on her heels and sighed in relief.

As they moved towards her, Setsuna spoke. "We need to keep Nemesis away from these two for a while, if at all possible. He's going to need some time to calm down."

Usagi gasped when she reached Setsuna's side. Both Haruka and Michiru were transformed and both of them looked like they'd been put through a meat grinder. Haruka's nose looked to be broken and both of them were covered in bruises. 

"Why did he do this?" Usagi demanded.

"They attacked you several times, betrayed you, killed two members of their own team, one of whom was Nemesis' daughter,  
and, to top it all off, their plan failed. I'm surprised he didn't kill them instantly." Setsuna calmly replied. "As it is, Haruka has a broken nose, and I'm not sure of what Michiru has. Ami, scan them, if you would."

Ami's fingers flew over the keyboard. "Well, there are extreme amounts of bruising on both of them. Haruka has a broken nose and several green fractures on her ribs. Michiru has several green fractures as well, along with a broken tailbone. Other than that they're fine. No permanent damage whatsoever."

Setsuna nodded. "It appears as though he was teaching them a lesson. A very rough, very painful lesson. Help me carry them to Haruka's car."

Setsuna closed the door on Hotaru's sleeping form. It had taken a while, but Hotaru had finally fallen asleep with her newly-declared "cute mascot" resting at her feet. Both Haruka and Michiru were in their respective beds with herbal salves to reduce the bruising and aches. Their beds would probably have to be burned to get rid of the smell, but that was no concern of hers. Haruka's nose was back to its normal position and Michiru had to be laid on her stomach because of the broken tailbone. That was going to annoy her for the next several weeks. Setsuna made sure both of them were still asleep then continued down the hallway to her room.

Setsuna shut her door behind her then flipped on her lights.  
Ranma was sitting on the bed dressed only in his standard white muscle tee and black pants, cradling his head in his hands. Setsuna ignored him and slipped out of her suit and into her nightclothes.  
Once that was done, she sat in the chair by the bed. Idly, she noted that Ranma's black and silver shirt was resting in a heap in the corner of the room.

"Problems, Ranma?"

"I'm him and he's me, but we're still we!" Ranma snapped out in a near-frenzied tone. "I nearly killed Uranus and Neptune!  
If you hadn't have stopped me, I would have!"

Ranma lifted his face out of his hands and met Setsuna's gaze with haunted eyes. In a tortured voice, he whispered. "What have I become?"

Setsuna watched as Ranma buried his face back in his hands.  
She sighed softly, then started to speak.

"You've just had over half a century of memories shoved into your brain, on top of that your body rebuilt itself overnight,  
and that's not even mentioning the fact that you've just discovered you have a daughter. Under those conditions, I'm surprised you're not curled into a ball and screaming." Setsuna calmly stated.

Ranma groaned again. "Thanks for reminding me. I'm a father.  
I'm not READY to be a father!" He froze. "Oh damn."

"What is it?" Setsuna asked quickly.

"I just remembered how she was born in the Silver Millennium"  
Ranma started to curse in a soft monotone.

"And how was she born in the Silver Millennium?" Setsuna casually asked.

Ranma snorted. "Didn't tell back then. Not gonna tell now."

"So, what do you remember of the Silver Millennium?" Setsuna asked, as she moved out of the chair and sat next to Ranma.

Ranma sighed and lifted his head out of his hands again. "Bits an' pieces. It's all there, hoverin' just outta reach. I can see portions, but if I try to bring them out...they slip away. All I know is, I got this feeling that somethin' ain't right. But I don't know what. It's like an itch that I can't scratch."

Setsuna reached up and placed a supporting hand on his shoulder.  
"Don't try to force them. You'll just hurt yourself. I've seen the results of people trying to force mental blocks, and it's usually not pretty. Just let them come as they want to."

Ranma ground out a rough laugh. "Be a lot easier if I didn't have this sinking feeling that I'm forgetting somethin' important.  
And it's right there, on the edge of my brain. Just barely out of reach. ARGH! I HATE that feeling!"

Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Well, it's not going to come if you try to force it. You should get some sleep."

Ranma stood up and started to walk towards the door. Setsuna narrowed her eyes then spoke.

"Maybe we should figure out a reason for your growth spurt before tomorrow morning."

"Got it covered." Ranma said with a wave of his hand. His form shivered, wavered, and shrank down to his 'normal' appearance.  
"Simple glamour. But...I will need clothes."

Setsuna stared as Ranma walked over to her closet and pulled out several of her suits. "What are you doing?"

"Getting some clothes. I have nothing to wear. Except that black and silver shirt and that's a bit obvious, don't you think?  
Might as well hang a sign on my back telling everyone I'm Nemesis.  
So I'm borrowing some of yours." Ranma was turned away from Setsuna,  
but she could still hear the smile in his voice. "Man, you have a lot of these suits. Don't you ever get sick of them?"

"I have other clothes!" Setsuna snapped defensively.

"Oh, yeah? Where?"

"Over in the- Oh, no. I'm not going tell you. You can wear the suits. You leave the rest of my clothing alone." Setsuna instructed in a firm voice. 

Ranma chuckled as he walked for the door. As he opened it, Setsuna spoke once more.

"Ranma. I know you. I knew you in the past. I assure you, you would not have killed Haruka and Michiru. If you had truly wanted to kill them, your first blow would have done it. Now, stop beating yourself up over it." Setsuna's voice was low and firm. Ranma blinked a few times, then spoke hesitantly.

"Th-thanks, Setsuna. Somehow, that makes me feel a lot better"  
Ranma softly shut the door behind him and walked to his room. Suddenly, he smiled softly and spoke. "I have a daughter. I have a daughter. I'm a Daddy. Wow."

Ranma walked closed his door, changed clothing and sexes, then laid on the bed and slept the sleep of the dead, still smiling happily.

Setsuna surveyed her students with a critical eye. Amazingly,  
all of them were still awake and were at least pretending to pay attention. Even Usagi had managed to correctly answer several questions. She nodded to herself, then spoke.

"All right. Class is done for today. I've decided to forgo your session with Ranko for today, but it will be moved to tomorrow.  
So, all of you make sure to get lots of sleep tonight. Now, shoo"  
Setsuna made a shooing motion with her hand and watched with amusement as Usagi, Minako, and Makoto nearly teleported out of the house. Rei and Ami didn't move nearly as fast, but they didn't linger, either. Haruka and Michiru stiffly got to their feet and slowly walked out of the room, followed by Hotaru, who was carrying Farow. The fox had draped himself around her shoulders and seemed insanely pleased with the state of affairs. 

Ranma waited until the room was empty, then stood and walked over to Setsuna. "Why'd you cancel the session?"

"We're going shopping. As you pointed out, you need new clothes." Setsuna pointed out.

"Oh. Wait, 'we'? Why can't I go by myself? Don't you think I can pick out clothes?" Ranma asked indignantly.

Setsuna eyed Ranma skeptically. "You own how many pairs of the exact same Chinese outfit, again?"

Ranma was silent for a few minutes. "Okay, you got a point.  
Fine. Let's go shopping. But none of those girly stores, got it?"

Setsuna nodded slightly. "No girly stores. However, you WILL be getting a variety. That is non-negotiable."

Ranma suddenly had a sinking feeling.

"SETSUNA! HIIII!"

Ranma stiffened as the insanely happy voice cut across the noise in the clothing store like a chain saw goes through butter. Warm butter. Warm butter that had been left outside in Georgia all day.  
In late July. "Oh, please not them."

Ranma slowly turned to look at where Setsuna was looking at some blouses. Sure enough, Usagi was there, babbling like mad. Unsurprisingly, the rest of the Inners were with her. Ranma

slowly edged out of sight behind a rack of clothing. He heard Setsuna saying something, then the whole mob of girls trooping off. He breathed a sigh of relief. Having the Senshi meet him in male form wouldn't be a good thing. Not at all.

"I told you it was a mistake for you to immediately change into the Chinese outfit and grab hot water. I told them I'd meet them in an hour at the food court." Setsuna's amused voice drifted to him from the other side of the clothing rack. Ranma silently groaned to himself. She was going to gloat for a long time about this.

Ranma walked around the clothing and eyed the clothing he was surrounded by. "Setsuna, I'm in the middle of the girl's clothing section. We've already got me clothes that'll go with girl form,  
my guy form, and both. Why are we still here?"

Setsuna looked at him then lifted an eyebrow. "You have no lingerie. That is something we need to fix."

Ranma blanched and started to wave his hands. "Nuh-UH! Not a chance! No girly stuff! No!"

Setsuna grabbed his hand and started to drag him along, ignoring his words. Finally, she spoke. "Haruka and Michiru will have noticed you have no female undergarments. You need a sports bra,  
at least. Or do you enjoy having your breasts bounce all over the place during a fight? Just think of it as an athletic support for your chest. Also, as you know, panties are necessary during a certain part of the month. Unless you'd rather we get tampons?" 

Seeing Ranma's mute head-shake, Setsuna continued. "You don't have to wear them. After all, you can prevent that from happening by staying a guy those three days. But we do need to get some. It's called-"

"-Building your cover." Ranma interrupted. "Fine. But you ain't gonna get no frilly stuff."

Setsuna snorted. "That would be almost as suspicious.  
I know just the thing for you. They have boxers that are designed for women. Snug in the right places, but they're still boxers.  
They're a fashion statement. I ordered some for you. Was I correct in presuming you'd prefer those rather than actual panties?"

Ranma nodded enthusiastically. Setsuna finally stopped in front of a lingerie store. She pushed him down on a bench and dropped all her packages on his lap.

"Hold those. I'll be right back."

Ranma groaned loudly as Setsuna walked away. A few people walking by shot him amused glances. An old man who had seen the whole exchange walked over and patted Ranma's shoulder. 

"Don't worry, son. It's worth the annoyance." He grinned at Ranma. "Oh boy, is it worth the annoyance. The right packaging can make anybody look better. You lucky dog, you."

Ranma stared in bewilderment at the back of the old man as he walked away. "Wha?"

Ranma puzzled for a few seconds about the man's words, then shrugged and decided to ignore them. He started to mentally review katas in his head to pass the time. He was up to his fifty-second kata when a feeling washed over him. It felt like a red-hot nail had been dragged across his nerve endings.

"Oh, crap." He whispered, then stood up. He strode towards the lingerie store, juggling the packages to a better position as he did. He walked through the door of the shop, paused for a few seconds, then turned and walked straight for the dressing rooms.

"Excuse me, sir? Sir? Sir! You can't go back there!" A saleswoman grabbed his arm. It didn't slow him down, but it did get several odd looks. Ranma stopped and shrugged her off.

"My wife's back there. Out of my way." Ranma curtly declared,  
then walked on. He reached his destination, pulled open one of the doors, and stepped in. A half-naked Setsuna stared at him in disbelief.

"We need to talk." Ranma announced in a flat voice.

"It could have waited until I was finished!" Setsuna hotly announced.

"No, it couldn't have. Someone just used Chaos to teleport.  
It felt like transportation, not a personal jump. There were several of them. Call the Senshi. Tell the Outers to have Saturn heal them.  
Have them all meet me on the roof in ten minutes. We've got some ass to kick, would be my educated guess." Ranma finished in a nearly gleeful note.

Setsuna nodded. "What about my packages?"

Ranma sighed, then bent over and shoved the packages into the shadows under the bench. "There. They're all in your closet."

Setsuna nodded and rapidly got dressed. "Any idea who or what we'll be fighting?"

Ranma shook his head as his form rippled and changed into Nemesis. "Not a clue. Just that who ever 'ported them in did it fast and hard. Otherwise, I never would have felt them. The roof.  
Ten minutes."

Setsuna watched as Nemesis sank into her shadow, then pulled out her communicator. "Ami? You're not going to enjoy this..."

"I can't believe they'd attack on the one day Setsuna let us out early." Sailor Moon groused from her position on the edge of the roof. She had been most upset with that fact, and had grumbled about it for the last seven minutes. The rest of the Senshi were just waiting for the rest of the Outers to show up. Pluto was standing by one corner of the building surveying the surrounding area. At the sound of feet climbing the fire escape, everyone's eyes shot towards the top of the fire escape ladder.

Uranus climbed over the edge of the roof, then turned to help Neptune and Saturn. Saturn looked a little winded from the climb and the healing she did to Uranus and Neptune, but she was regaining her wind. Uranus surveyed the group once everyone was on the roof.  
She smirked a little. "So...why are we here again?" 

"I told Pluto to call you. We've got guests. Several of them"  
Nemesis announced from the roof of the stairwell. Several of the Senshi jumped at the sound of his voice, the notable exceptions being Saturn and Pluto. Nemesis jumped off the roof and looked around. "Where's pretty boy and the fox?"

"Mamo-chan's in Hokkaido on a school trip." Sailor Moon answered quickly.

"Farow stayed at home. Said he was worthless in a fight, anyways." Saturn chimed in.

Nemesis nodded, then commanded. "Be quiet, all of you. Listen."

The Senshi all listened for a few seconds. Nemesis lifted a hand and dropped it. 

"There. Did you hear it?"

Mercury blinked. "It sounded like...a roar of some kind?"

Nemesis nodded. "That's the hunting roar of a Nemesian Cat. One of the top three on the food chain of Nemesis. Don't know how they got here, but they're very nasty. Now listen carefully.  
Those things are big, mean, and ugly. On top of that, they're totally invulnerable to Chaos magic. However, I can get them to chase me pretty easily. So, get to the nearest park. I'll piss them off and lead them straight to you. After that, all you have to do is shoot straight." He clapped his hands together and grinned. "Should be a fun fight!"

"I think your definition of 'fun' doesn't match ours." Mars dryly remarked.

"That's because I'm insane." Nemesis gleefully announced.  
He shot a glance towards Uranus and Neptune. "Now, take care of my daughter while I'm busy, okay? Don't try to kill her this time,  
got it?"

Mercury blinked. "Daughter? What daughter?"

Nemesis just laughed and jumped off the roof of the building.  
The Inner Senshi and Saturn turned to look at Pluto. She looked back calmly.

"Not now. We have other things to deal with. I'll tell you later. Now, we have a park to get to."

The Senshi nodded, unable to argue her point.

Pluto stood patiently in the middle of the park. Nemesis had been baiting the Cats for the last ten minutes. He'd stopped broadcasting his progress after the second one started following him. Suddenly, her waiting was broken by Nemesis' voice over her communicator.

"Pluto. Situation report. They're all following me. I've removed one of them from the picture. However, there are eight left.  
And they've been altered. Larger and faster than I remember.  
They don't seem as smart, though. Or as tough. I'm coming down the street to the east of your current location. Get ready. They're right on my tail."

Pluto snapped into motion as soon as Nemesis' voice faded away.  
She whirled around and started to snap orders. "He's coming and they're right behind him! Get ready! He'll be coming down that street! Mercury, as soon as he's clear of the targets, throw a Shabon Spray. After that, everyone pick a target. You should be able to figure it out from there. Just keep hitting them until they die. There are only eight of them, so double up when possible.  
Let's go, people!"

Mercury paused for a few seconds to ask a question. "What do these things look like?"

Pluto shrugged. "I've never seen one. However, from the little bit Arin talked about them, I believe they're fairly large. About the size of a Saber-Tooth Tiger."

Mercury nodded. "Okay, that won't be too hard to deal with."

With the ease born of long experience, the Senshi moved into positions and waited. Within minutes, they heard screaming,  
crashes, and the sounds of general mayhem coming their way. Everyone tensed. Seconds later, Nemesis sprinted around the corner at an insane speed. He jumped and ran along the wall of the building for a few seconds when he couldn't make the turn. As soon as he hit the ground, he sped up again.

"THEY'RE ON THE WAY AND THEY ARE PISSED!" Nemesis bellowed at the top of his lungs. Seconds later, he hit the ground in a slide and went through their line. The Senshi all started to gather their powers in preparation. Then what was chasing Nemesis came into view and all thoughts fled their minds.

"Oh, holy kamis..." Mars whispered.

They were cats. Sort of. They resembled your common big cat like a child's toy tank resembled a M1-A1 Abrams. That is to say,  
they made them look small, weak, and pitiful. All of the cats were colored the same jet black. Each of them had a mouth full of needle-sharp teeth. All had the same insane gleam in their red eyes.  
The six legs each possessed ended in long, wickedly jagged claws.  
And every last one of them was at least twelve feet tall at the shoulder. And they all looked very, very, VERY angry.

"HIT THEM!" Nemesis screamed from behind them. They rapidly recovered and started with the plan. Mercury covered the area with her fog and all the Cats were hit in the Senshi's initial energy barrage, knocking them to the ground. The lead Cat received several hits, in fact. The Senshi prepared for another round as Mercury's fog dissipated. Then...they were met with an unpleasant sight.

The Cats were getting up. And the only change the assault seemed to have caused was they looked even angrier, if possible.  
Nemesis swore loudly.

"They're resistant to Order, too. Saturn! Wall! Now!" Nemesis ground out. Saturn rapidly obeyed before the Cats came any closer. The sight of the Cats clawing and snarling at the invisible barrier in their way did nothing to reassure the Senshi. Nemesis growled.

"This...sucks." He stated flatly. "We have to go hand to...paw, I guess. And you're not ready. If you have weapons,  
use them. If you don't have weapons, try to hit them in the joints.  
Those are about the only things you can hurt from the outside with your hands or feet. Your magic will only piss them off. Use it to keep them off balance while you fight. Use the fastest attacks you have. Try to cripple them so the weapon users can finish them off. Never stay still. Saturn, as soon as you drop the wall...Silence Glaive Surprise them. We can always hope. You won't get a second shot, so make sure the first one hits."

Nemesis paused and turned to Venus. "Oh, yeah. I got something for you."

Venus looked startled. "For me?"

Nemesis nodded and reached behind him. Slowly, he drew out a large crystal broadsword. "Found this on the Moon. Figured you'd want it back."

Venus caught the sword when he tossed it to her and held it reverently. "My sword... Thank you."

Nemesis nodded slightly. "It belongs to you. I can't think of a better time to present it. Now, let's do this. Saturn...drop the Wall."

The Wall dropped, the Cats charged, and the battle was joined.  
Saturn threw a Silence Glaive Surprise and caught the lead Cat straight on with it, causing it to more or less vaporize. Then the Cats were on them, and there was no more time for plans.

By unspoken consent, Nemesis, Saturn and Pluto all took a single Cat, allowing the other Senshi to team up on the rest. Mars and Mercury danced around one, slashing at it with ice and fire and flesh when the opportunity presented itself. On another, Jupiter and Venus moved in a whirlwind of striking hands and feet, and the flashing of a crystalline blade. At the third, Neptune fought with a lethal grace that belied her appearance. And at the fourth, Uranus used her sword and fought at Moon's side with a savage intensity. Moon was using her Scepter to great advantage, darting in to strike at the Cat's knees, then darting back out. The clumsiness that was nearly her trademark was conspicuously absent from her movement.

Meanwhile, the last three Cats were being entertained by Nemesis, Saturn, and Pluto. Saturn was strangely elegant as she worked on literally slicing her opponent to ribbons with the blade of her Glaive. Pluto was systematically crushing the bones of any part that came within reach of her Staff. And Nemesis...was going insane. Unable to use a weapon, unable to hurt the Cat with his magic, and already tired from killing one Cat earlier in the evening, he had fallen back to a tried and true strategy: Hoping his Chaos would keep him alive long enough to kill his enemy. His shirt was well and truly ruined, mostly due to it no longer being there.

Distantly, he heard a Cat's death roar, coupled with the sound of a uniquely-shaped pole arm blade sliding home. He grinned,  
slapped a paw to the side, accepted a swipe from another, and drove his fist into the knee of the first paw. A satisfying CRACK-CRUNCH  
emitted. The Cat screamed in pain and slammed a paw into the side of his skull. The blow threw him a few feet, where he skipped,  
rolled, and bounced back to his feet. He jerked his head to either side rapidly, popping his neck loudly then rushed back into the fight. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Saturn heading over to assist Neptune with her foe.

And then, it happened. All it took was a single wet leaf on the freshly-watered lawn. Then a single boot-heel carrying the entire weight of a Sailor Suited Warrior for Love and Justice landed on it.  
And the leaf slid, dropping Sailor Moon to the ground like a sack of bricks.

Jupiter reacted with the speed, devotion, and utter disregard for her personal safety that had earned her Princess' utter trust in times past. She dove for Moon and shoved her out of the way. Just in time to have her back laid open by four razor-sharp claws, instead of Moon's chest. At her scream of pain, all motion on the field seemed to freeze for one, fatal second.

And Nemesis screwed up. He turned to look at where the scream had come from. And then realized just how stupid that was when a razor-tipped paw slammed him into the ground and pinned him there with bone crushing force. Lying there, he had a perfect view as the Cat standing over Jupiter started to rear a paw back to strike Moon,  
who was staring at the massively wounded Jupiter in shock and horror.

And he realized: he couldn't stop it. He couldn't even slow it down. The screams of the other Senshi were whispers on the wind as he accepted the only way he could fulfill his oaths to his Queen.  
In the fractions of seconds available to him, he reached deep inside himself, past all his skills, all his knowledge, all his techniques.  
He reached deep into the dark portion of his mind that was no longer his. The mentally blocked and walled part of his brain that held his greatest fear. The part he had reinforced with his magic as soon as he had remembered how. And with a mental twist, he broke the locks,  
and ripped down the walls. And the Neko-ken came howling out, screaming to kill, rend, and destroy.

And everything went...crimson.

To be continued... Author's Notes:

Sometimes, I even hate myself for writing cliffhangers. 

Then I realize: I LIKE cliffhangers. And instantly,  
I feel better. Of course, I usually receive a wide (and rather inventive) series of death threats after one, but that's pretty cool,  
really.

Anyhoo, my writing time hasn't improved much, as you can tell.  
I don't really have anyone to blame. Except my evil professors.  
Or something. It certainly wouldn't have ANYTHING to due with the Voiders. Of course not.

BTW, Mage? You realize this means you owe me a certain fic about a certain Dream, right? I'm looking at my Inbox now. Heh.

Thanks go out to all the people who gave me ideas to use in AtST. Included in that blanket statement are Kenko, MageOhki,  
Brian Randall, ALL the Void regulars, my pre-readers, and many, many people I have undoubtedly forgotten. Sorry 'bout that. My memory sucks.

Well, I guess now people can start nagging me about Chapter 9. sob Does it NEVER end! Wait, why am I asking you guys that?  
Bah, never mind me. It's too late for me to make sense.

Oh, just one last thing. While I know it's pretty egotistical of me to hope for fanart, I just can't help myself. On the off chance someone is bored enough to waste their time on fanart for AtST, I'd love to see it. (Because my ego could always use extra armor.)

Ja Ne! Slacker Alpha draft 11/06/2001 


	10. All the Small Things Chapter 9

Prior chapters of this long overdue fic can be found at http/ It goes without saying that I don't own a single character in this story. Of course, I can point out one or two I wish I did... Purely for professional reasons, mind you. Certainly nothing involving skin-tight clothing or chocolate sauce. Certainly not. What, don't you believe me? Bah. Perverts, all of you.

Real Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and whoever she may have sold the rights to. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and whoever she may have sold the rights to. This is a work of unathorized fan fiction and should only be taken as such.  
No profit has been made off this piece of writing, nor has any been intended to be made.

"All the Small Things - Chapter 9: The Saga...Drags On?" Yet Another Ranma/Sailor Moon Crossover By: Slacker 

Dark. Why is it dark? Shouldn't be dark. Oh, yes. Eyes are closed. Open them? Naw, why bother. Wonder where I am? What was I doing... Oh, yes. Fighting. Need to ask. Need to make sure.

"Did I win?"

Who said that? Oh, wait. I did. Can hear someone. Why isn't she answering? How did I know she was a she? What the hell is going on? Why am I so tired? Should sleep...No! Need answer!

"Did I kill it?"

Waiting. Taking too long. Gotta open my eyes-Wait. Feel something. What. A hand. My forehead. Whose? Perfume. Setsuna's.  
Why isn't she answering?

"You won. They're dead. The Princess is safe."

"Good."

I won. She's safe. So tired...

Setsuna watched over Nemesis' form and made certain he had fallen back asleep before rising out of her chair and walking silently to the door. She opened it slowly and slipped out, pausing to take a final look at him before closing the door.

Setsuna walked calmly down the hallway and entered the bathroom,  
slipping out of her clothes as she went. She gathered her clothes in one hand and simply dropped them in the trashcan as she went past it. She turned the shower on and stepped in, not even waiting for the water to warm. Her hand grabbed for the soap and a sponge, building up a quick lather and scrubbing her skin rapidly. She tilted her head back under the showerhead and sighed softly in pleasure as she applied shampoo with the ease born of long practice. Dipping her head forward,  
she wiggled her shoulders, letting the spray pound her shoulder and the back of her neck for a few seconds before swishing her hair back under the water and rinsing the shampoo from it. She slapped the water off and slowly opened her eyes, watching the swirls of crimson-tinted water drip down the drain.

With a shake of her head, Setsuna stepped out of the shower,  
grabbing a terrycloth robe off the hooks beside the shower doors and slipping into it. She flipped her hair over shoulder with a snap of her head and combed it into place with her fingers as she opened the door and stepped out, pausing briefly to contemplate the sodden, crimson mess in the trashcan that was once her clothes.

"Going to have to talk to him about making less of a mess when he saves our lives." Setsuna drawled wryly and walked away from the bathroom, heading down the hallway and descending the stairs on silent feet.

At the bottom of the stairs, she paused and cast a measuring gaze over the tableau in front of her. All the senshi were present,  
scattered around the room in various ways. One couch was taken up by Ami and Makoto, the latter laying face-down across the lap of the former. Makoto, for her part, was grumbling softly at this arrangement,  
mostly about how she was fine and didn't even feel anything so why shouldn't she be allowed to sit up on her own and this was really stupid, you know.

Well, normally she'd be complaining about that. Of course, this wasn't exactly normal. Instead of grumbling, Makoto was completely silent, along with the rest of the occupants of the room. All their attention was riveted on the television, where a news program was playing. On the screen, the pretty young reporter was standing in front of what might have once been a park.

"...and as you can see, this entire area has been more or less utterly destroyed. While the authorities still have no comment,  
sources inform me that this sleepy little park was nowhere near any gas mains, power lines, or any other readily available source of explainable accident. Some eyewitnesses are claiming to have seen what they swear to be 'magical girls' fighting something in this park. All I know is, a once-beloved park is now in ruins, with no easy answers.  
This is Nanami Jinnai, for Channel Eight news. Back to you, Masamichi."

Back in the studio, the anchorman chuckled softly and shook his head as he jokingly addressed the anchorwoman beside him. "Magical girls. Amazing what stress can do to a person's mind, isn't it?"

Whatever the woman's reply would have been was cut off as Setsuna strode forward and snapped the television off with a flick of her fingers. Her voice was soft as she surveyed the closed faces of the girls in front of her. "Yes. It is amazing what stress can do."

Silence reigned supreme for a few moments before Usagi spoke from the chair she was sitting in, her voice as soft as Setsuna's, but strangely without the usual hesitation at speaking to the enigimatic Senshi of Time. "That was the Neko-ken." It was not a question,  
but a soft statement of a fact obvious to all. Her eyes were shadowed,  
contemplating her lap and the hands she had laced there.

Setsuna nodded. "It was. Enhanced by Nemesis' magic."

Usagi pursed her lips slightly and lifted her eyes slowly to Setsuna's. "Nemesis is Ranko. You've known all along."

"Yes, I've known who Nemesis was for about a decade now." Her voice was matter-of-fact as she spoke.

Usagi smiled tightly and slowly stood, somehow managing to loom over Setsuna despite the height difference. Her voice remained soft as she asked. "And you never felt the urge to tell Us?"

Setsuna lifted her head and steadily replied. "It would not have been in either of your best intrests. Nemesis has only barely remembered the past."

"That's not an excuse, Setsuna." Usagi whispered in a voice full of sympathetic pain.

"I was not making excuses, Serenity. I was offering a reason"  
Setsuna gently countered.

"If you knew who she was, you should have watched over her. Helped her. I've talked to her, you know. I've heard some of the stories about her early years. The 'training'. The 'exercises.  
The hell she went through at a time she should have been playing with other children. What reason could there be to allow that?" Usagi asked, in a voice that requested, even begged for, an answer, an explanation for suffering that could have been prevented.

Setsuna's eyes grew dark as she softly answered. "Survival.  
Nemesis would be dead now, if not for those experiences. You haven't seen the enemies Nemesis faced in the last decade, or even the last year."

Usagi went silent for a few moments, then slowly sat back down in her chair. "I..." Her voice faltered and broke as she whispered.  
"She didn't even realize who I was... She wasn't human, Setsuna.  
She was...was..." Very slowly, Usagi's body slumped into the chair,  
shaking with soundless tears as she bowed her head. "She was a cat."

Rei wordlessly stood from the chair she was sitting in and moved across the room, slipping a comforting arm around Usagi's shoulder and casting Setsuna a look filled with rage barely held in check. Setsuna met Rei's gaze with a calm, implacable serenity in her eyes,  
gained through untold years of experience. 

Setsuna's voice was soft as she spoke again. "You think I don't regret what I haven't been able to stop? That I don't wish I could have prevented Nemesis' difficulties? I do, you know. I wish I could have taken Nemesis and made sure none of that evil would have happened.  
Nemesis went through pure hell for over a decade and I wish I could have prevented it. But..."

Usagi lifted her tear-stained cheeks and choked out between sobs.  
"Stop calling her 'Nemesis' all the time! She has a name! At least show her that much respect! Her name is Ranko! Ranko Satori!"

"No, it isn't."

Setsuna's calm announcement froze all motion in the room. Even Usagi's shaking shoulders stilled for a few moments as she whispered. 

"...what?"

Setsuna cleared her throat and repeated. "No, it isn't. Ranko Satori does not exist except on paper. 'Her' real name is Ranma Saotome."

Almost unconsciously, Ami's hand darted to the Mercury Computer and typed a quick inquiry. The results came up almost immediately.  
"The only Ranma Saotome on record is male, Setsuna."

"I know. That's because Ranma is-"

"Looks like I'm missing a meeting. Poor manners of me, yes?"

Everyone snapped their eyes to the origin of the voice that interrupted Setsuna's explanation, faces going slack with surprise.  
At the foot of the stairs stood an obviously weary girl that they now knew to be Ranma, wrapped in a blanket. Fatigue stained her voice as she spoke.

"Tomorrow, Setsuna. I'll show 'em tomorrow. They'll never believe you, otherwise. Rei's temple should work. As it is, right now, all of us need sleep. We'll finish this tomorrow. Now is not the time, tomorrow is."

Ranma turned and slowly started to make her way back up the stairs, pausing briefly to glance back over her shoulder. "Get to bed.  
This will be better after a night of sleep. No training tomorrow."

The senshi watched as Ranma slowly ascended the stairs and disappeared from view, mumbling softly to herself as she went. Setsuna nodded once and announced, 

"She's right. We all need sleep. I'll answer your questions tomorrow, but not before."

And with that, Setsuna calmly followed Ranma back up the stairs.

The next morning, the Hikawa shrine was peaceful, with only the sounds of the birds and the wind whispering through the trees to break the perfect stillness.

This was because none of the Senshi (excepting Setsuna) managed to wake up until almost noon. Which resulted in Setsuna resorting to under-handed tactics to wake them all up. She took advantage of the intercoms that were in each room. And the fact that the intercoms were wired into the house's sound system. She even remembered to put in her earplugs before turning on the music.

And the Senshi were woken up by a loud trumpet fanfare. Followed by lyrics they would eventually cause several of them to ask Rei if she could perform an exercism to get them out.

o/" Mini moni terefon da! rin rin rin o/"

"What the hell is that?" Haruka grumbled as her eyes forced themselves open. Beside her, Michiru's response was entirely non-verbal, consisting of slamming her hand into the bedside alarm clock rapidly. And repeatedly.

o/" Denwa wo kakemashou rin rin rin o"  
o/" Pakapaka denwa pakka rin rin rin o/"

Usagi grumbled loudly and flipped over in her bed, trying to drown out the insanely-peppy song by burying her head under the pillow.

o/" Rin rin rin tsuu tsuu tsuu o"  
o/" Rin rin rin pururururu o/"

Minako blinked bleary eyes and bobbed her head lightly, still mostly asleep as she hummed.

o/" Kochira mini moni rusuban denwa saabisu sentaa desu o"  
o/" Rusuden da rusuden da o/"

Ranma...twitched. Repeatedly.

o/" Okeshou yarimashou run run run o"  
o/" Paka paka conpakuto run run run o/"

Hotaru blinked slowly turned her head, trying to find the source of the noise.

o/" Bijin ka na? Dou desu ka? Nachuraru ni shiagemashou o/"

Makoto whimpered softly and tried to find a way to get rid of the song without, say...moving. At all. She was warm and comfy and holding onto something soft and nice smelling and...waitaminnit.

o/" Doko ni mo nai mono naraba tsukurimashou o"  
o/" Peperonchiino ni chiizu kaketatte ii darou! o/"

Ami grumbled loudly and tried to ignore the music in favor of the dream of Makoto and the contents of a tub of ice cream...hold on a second. Ami's eyes shot open as sleep suddenly became the very last thing on her mind.

o/" Tanoshii ohanashii wa tanoshiku shimashou! o"  
o/" Mini moni terefon wa rin rin rin rin rin ririn o/"

Rei growled loudly and threw her pillow at the wall, somehow hoping to kill the intercom. Somehow.

o/" Denwa ga narimashita rin rin rin o"  
o/" Imadoki masaka masaka rin rin rin o/"

Setsuna smiled slowly to herself as the undeniably sounds of people waking up started to filter through the earplugs. She whistled innocently as she turned the music's volume up just a tad and started to mentally catalogue the noises she could still hear. 

Let's see... That scream is likely Ami realizing she somehow crawled into bed with Makoto sometime last night. And, right on cue,  
that's Makoto, realizing just what she's snuggling against. (Wonder how long Ami's slept in the nude?) And that crash sounds like Michiru trying to get her alarm clock to shut up. Again. Going to have to talk to her about the cost of alarm clocks. Usagi, momentarily panicking because she thinks she's late to school... And there's Minako joining her. Wait, Minako's singing along. Well, that figures.  
Haruka, screaming something about 'Making it stop.' Argh. And that boom was probably a chi attack. Sheesh. I'm making him pay for the damages. And that scream...is Rei finding out there's always a blast of cold water before the hot in the pipes. Have to give her credit for getting up, though. Lots of practice, I'd imagine.

Setsuna was broken out of her musings by a soft tug on the sleeve of her blouse. She quickly glanced down to see what was going on and saw a semi-sleepy Hotaru blinking solemnly up at her. Setsuna glanced over to her hand, which was still on the volume control for the intercoms and pinkened slightly.

"Ummm...I needed something to get everyone up quickly?" She hesitantly offered, thoughts awhirl. Wait. Why am I offering excuses?

Hotaru just blinked at Setsuna again, then tugged on her sleeve and looked semi-pitiful. Setsuna sighed and snapped the intercom off, then pulled the earplugs out. 

"I never get to have any fun." Did I just say that?

Setsuna cleared her throat and casually entered the kitchen,  
finishing the last few steps necessary for the food she'd started earlier to finish cooking and studiously ignoring her own behaviour.

The Hikawa Shrine was no longer peaceful, silence shredded by the clamoring voice of a group of very chatty girls. Occasionally,  
a loud scream of "GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD!" would echo through the grounds, or perhaps "Minako, STOP SINGING IT!" A careful listener would have been able to hear the "But it's cute!" that usually answered that last scream, followed by the sounds of someone smacking their head against something hard.

Ami cleared her throat and tried to ignore the way Haruka was making the table shake. 

"I thought Rank-" Ami checked herself, then tried again, "Ranma was supposed to be here." Her voice was pleasant, almost able to hide the undercurrent of accusation that she wasn't even really aware was there. Almost.

Setsuna sipped at the cup of tea in her hands. "Ranma should be."

"Then where is she?" Ami conversationally inquired, fingers twirling her pen quickly.

Setsuna drained the tea in her cup and peered at the tea leaves left in the bottom. "Hmmm... Very close to us now."

Ami craned her neck, trying to see the bottom of Setsuna's cup. "I didn't know you could read tea leaves."

"I can't." Setsuna calmly set her cup down on the table and stated, "But I can watch her as she walks in and stands behind you."

Ami blinked. And heard it. From right behind her. A soft,  
low chuckle. She slowly leaned back, tipping her head back to look up.  
As her shoulders hit the silk-clad legs only a few inches from her shoulderblades, she mentally made a note to never forget that Ranma could be very quiet.

Ranma grinned down at Ami and cheerfully explaimed, "Hiya."

Ami carefully did not notice the way Ranma's shirt exposed the entirety of her chest from this angle and slowly waved up to the perky girl.

"Hi?"

Ranma waved again and sank onto a pillow fluidly, pouring herself a cup of tea. The rest of the Senshi clustered around the table, most of them staring at Ranma as she sipped at her tea. She glanced at them over the tea cup, carefully measuring the intensity and anticipation in their gazes, cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and carefully enunciated in an incredibly serious voice, "Rubber baby buggy bumpers."

There was a deafening silence.

There was a loud, simultaneous cry of "WHAT?"

There was a deafening silence, broken by a slow giggle being emitted from the odango'd blonde in the corner as she pointed at the dumb-founded look on most of the Senshi's faces. Usagi rapidly progressed from the soft giggling to full out laughter, falling back on the floor and nearly howling with glee as she gasped out, "T-the...looks...on your...f-f-faces!"

Minako blinked, then slowly started laughing, resting her arms on the top of the table and pillowing her face in them. Her shoulders shook as her laughter grew louder, finally resulting with her following Usagi's example and falling backwards to the floor helplessly,  
feet kicking as she laughed and laughed and laughed.

The rest of the Senshi blinked. And slowly started to let their mouths quirk in smiles as the infectious laughter started to get to them. Setsuna carefully set her cup down and closed her eyes, then buried her face in one hand and let slip the final straw: a tiny, almost-repressed snicker. The rest of the girls lost it, in a rush of releasing tension and built-up stress. Ranma sipped her tea again and used the cup to salute Setsuna with grin, silently mouthing "Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Secret Technique: The Hyena Laughs at Dawn." Setsuna simply shook her head and glanced at the laughing group. Even Ami was giggling into her hand, face flushed a bit.

Ranma waited until the laughter had finally started to subside and calmly noted, "You know, it wasn't that funny."

Which promptly set off even more laughter, mostly of the "We can't help it, we'd laugh at anything at this point, please help us stop, this is getting painful" variety. Setsuna just buried her face in her hands and shook her head, waiting for the laughter to die out again. When the room was finally quiet again, she eyed Ranma with a look that silently warned against trying anything else. Ranma grinned...and stayed silent.

"So, I believe we were here to ask Ranma a few questions,  
yes?" Setsuna calmly asked.

"A good point." Ami noted with a quick swipe to her eyes, then turned to the redhead at her side. "Now, would you like to explain why I only found one Ranm-" Ami winced as a squeal broke through her concentration suddenly. She sighed tiredly as she recognized the voice and resigned herself to getting her answers only after  
Usagi had finished voicing whatever thought had percolated through her brain.

Usagi giggled and crawled over quickly to lean over the table and poke Ranma's stomach. "I wanna see you transform! C'mon, say it..."

Ranma shook her head. "No. Wouldn't work, anyways."

Brilliant blue eyes blinked hopefully as a lip quivered,  
a finger winding blonde hair slowly. "Pleeeeeease?" Ranma twitched. "No. I don't do it that way. It's a matter of will. And it won't work in this form."

Usagi sniffled and gave Ranma her best 'beaten puppy' look.  
Rei coughed softly and idly noted, "Might as well just give in..."

"No. Not going to happen." Ranma's voice was solid as a rock,  
with a slight under-current of menace.

"Ranma's scaaaared." Haruka lightly sing-songed, snickering as she saw a wonderful opportunity for revenge present itself.

"I am NOT!" Ranma roared, jerking to her feet and pointing an accusing finger at Haruka. "You take that back!"

"Then why won't you say it?" Minako perkily chirped. "No harm, no chicken, right?"

"I'm telling you, it won't work!" Ranma exclaimed with an exasperated overhead fling of her arms. "My transformation doesn't work that way, it won't do anything to this form, and I'm not going to say it 'cause it sounds stupid!"

"Say what?" Setsuna asked innocently.

"Nemesis Planet Power, Make Up!" Ranma nearly bellowed in frustration--then froze in absolute horror, eyes wide as dinner plates.  
And stayed frozen for a few long seconds, before her shoulders slumped with a loud sigh. "Oh, thank Kami-sama..."

A spark of black energy rippled up her form.

"OH, FU-"

And her clothes exploded in a rush of ebony flame, lifting her from her feet in a surge as the field of energy surrounded her with a CRACK and a sharp tang of ozone. Flashes of skin could briefly be seen as magic washed over her form, tightening into a coccoon of dark energy, hiding her utterly from sight before bursting outwards in a wash of light.

Nemesis' booted feet hit the wood of the floor with a sharp crack. The Senshi simply...stared.

"Uh..." Usagi stated elegantly.

"That's not the normal uniform..." Makoto mumbled, rubbing at her eyes as her voice trailed off.

"That is not a fuku, either." Ami managed to get out, jaw slack.

"Is that...leather?" Minako asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Is that painted on!" Haruka exclaimed, leaning closer with an intense look, only to have the back of her head thwacked by Michiru.  
"Ow! It's a valid question!"

Setsuna blinked. And very carefully controlled the laugh that was trying to bubble out of her throat. Nemesis' expression promised that laughter would be a Very Bad Thing right now.

And Nemesis tightened her leather-clad fists until the leather creaked. She took a deep, careful breath, trying to ignore the way she could feel leather straps criss-crossing her chest, and slowly took a step forward. Yes, she could feel high heels on the knee-high boots. And that was a definite jingle of chain from around her hips and waist. Slowly, her eyes opened and with a whisper soft voice she calmly asked, "Am I wearing a tiara?"

Silent nods answered her. She nodded with a too-calm smile and reached up, ripping it off her brow and throwing it to the side.

"Ummm...it's back." Makoto noted hesitantly. Nemesis twitched as her fingers ventured back to her forehead and confirmed that fact.

"Of course it is. He would do that. At least I don't have earrings--"

"Little black ones. Studs." Haruka broke in.

"..." Nemesis' face went blank and as she hopefully asked,  
"But I'm not wearing a choker...?"

"Black with a white cresent moon." Setsuna calmly informed.

"Please tell me no hair ornaments," Nemesis' voice was flat with hopelessness.

"No." Ami responded quickly.

"Oh, thank you for small favors!" The leather-clad Senshi exclaimed with a sarcastic bite to her voice.

"But it is nicely styled." Haruka casually commented,  
savoring the not-so-subtle revenge happily.

A quick shudder answered the statement, followed by an almost pleading question of, "No ribbons?"

"No ribbons." Setsuna confirmed with a nod.

"Oh, thank Kami-sama!" Nemesis slowly looked over herself and firmly crushed any desire to comment that at least she looked good, and tried to reason with herself. Argh. Her. Damn it all. This sucked. This really sucked. Why did she always end up a girl?  
Always, always, always! It was like she was the butt of some vast cosmic conspiracy! "How can this get any worse?"

Usagi blinked and cheerfully remarked, "But the makeup is very nice! It makes you look a lot prettier"  
A single, massive twitch was the only reply.

To Be Continued... Author's Notes:

What? They can't ALL end on cliffhangers, right? C'mon, isn't a pathetic attempt at humor a good way to end a chapter? Anyways.  
I'm going to shut up now.

Okay, I lied. I'm going to apologize for the MASSIVE delay in getting this done, hope it doesn't suck so badly you all will hate me for it, note it is a rough draft, and run while shutting up.  
Thanks to Kenko for evil ideas on the transformation scene. It would be a lesser scene without his input.  
Ja Ne! Slacker 

PS. The song used is an actual song. It is J-pop, obviously,  
and was described by a friend as "audio crack cocaine". Its title is "Telephone! Ring Ring Ring!" and is by the band Mini Moni.

RedDeath, this is dedicated to you.

Lyrics can be found at: English: http/ Japanese: http/ a copy can be located at http/ (Good luck getting to it.) 


	11. All the Small Things Chapter 10

Yeah, it's been a while. Yes, I know it sucks. Shush.

Still don't own any of them, obviously.

All the Small Things -- Chapter 10

"Miss Nemesis Goes to Nerima"

By Slacker 

"You know, I had expected more of a response." Ranma idly noted,  
fingers tapping the empty glass on the table in front of him. 

Setsuna shrugged lightly and refilled Ranma's glass with tea. "I hadn't thought to take the Starlights into consideration. I should have accounted for that."

Ranma nodded and sipped his tea slowly, making a light noise of pleasure. "Well, it was a decent surprise, you know? No parade of kettles and ice water, no screaming, no fainting... Although,  
I was a bit worried about Minako and Makoto. They turned really red there for a few minutes. You ever figure out why that was?"

Setsuna eyed Ranma for a long, drawn-out moment, then continued in the slow ritual she always followed to fill her teacup, letting the ease of long habit take over her. "Oh, I'm sure they were just feeling very warm. Probably got too close to the fire."

Ranma 'ahhh'd and smiled, savoring the last little drop of tea in the cup before setting it down neatly and precisely in the center of its saucer. He stood from the table and gave Setsuna a little bow. "I'll talk with you in the morning, all right?"

Setsuna nodded over the rim of her cup and went back to contemplating the surface of her tea. Vaguely, she followed the sound of Ranma walking up the stairs and entering his room. She enjoyed the silence of the house for a few wonderful minutes, then set her teacup down and casually announced,

"If you even think about nipping my ankle, I will kick you through the far wall."

There was another moment of silence. Then a soft, grumbled series of complaints sounded from under Setsuna's chair and slowly moved to the other side of the table. The chair wiggled a bit as Farow's russet muzzle popped over the edge of the table, followed by the rest of his body. He perched delicately on the table, calmly smoothing his tail with his tongue. After a few minutes, he spoke,

"Tail brush against your leg?"

"The sandalwood shampoo Hotaru used to wash you."

"Oh. Figures. So, we should talk."

Setsuna nodded, standing from the table long enough to rinse out the teapot and cups. "Yes, we should."

Farow curled up into a red ball of fur on the table, tail flicking lightly. "So, talked to Artemis a bit. Says he's got a bit of a memory thing going on."

Setsuna paused for a second, then carefully sank into her seat again. "And how is your memory?"

"Pristine." The fox's voice was hard and flat. "Seyanne,  
you all ignoring Nemesis' warnings, the Palace 'incident.  
Right up to the point that Arin ripped his way out of the dungeon,  
shoved me into a cryo-tube, and warned me that he was likely about to get killed. So. Why don't you fill in on what I've missed."

Setsuna calmly shrugged and, with an idle tone, casually spoke.  
"Oh, Serenity died trying to save everyone's life when Beryl led a revolt against her, Earth is the only planet that still contains life, we've got your classic unknown enemy trying to kill all of us, likely very painfully, and lest I forget: I don't think Nemesis really has all his memories back, despite what he's said to me before."

Farow twitched and pressed his muzzle into his tail, sighing deeply. "Great. Just freakin' great. And I suppose you're going to ask me to keep my memories to myself. Otherwise, I might 'risk danger to the time stream' or some crap like that?"

Setsuna lifted an eyebrow. "Yes. But not for the reason you think. The time stream is on its own for the next few...well,  
centuries, I think. I want you to keep them to yourself because they're not ready to hear them yet. Mercury would have a nervous breakdown if you told her about her past, for example. And, quite frankly, the less they remember of some things, the better they'll be. Venus and her incidents in Court, for example."

Farow winced, fur crawling as he shuddered lightly. "Point.  
And I suppose they're at an 'anything could trigger anything' phase?"

Setsuna nodded and rubbed the bridge of her nose slowly as she answered. "Of course. Otherwise, it'd be too easy, right? Part of me really wants to give them everything back, but... The rest of me, the majority in fact, would prefer they not ever have to remember their past lives. The Phobos campaign, the Mercurian Blow-up, or the Jovian liner incident all spring to mind. Serenity sent them here in the hopes that they'd be able to escape all that and live happily this time. And, frankly, some of those memories would ensure the opposite."

Slowly, the ruddy ball of fur uncurled, hazel eyes moving to scan over Setsuna. "Okay. For now, I'm agreeing with you. Except Arin.  
He needs his memories. Those blocks, you need to take out."

"I don't have any blocks on Arin. I said that already, remember?  
In fact, he's stated that all his memories have returned to him." Setsuna bluntly reminded with a small frown. "And I think he's wrong.  
I'm certain, in fact."

Farow just groaned and dropped his head to the table, mumbling under his breath about "things never being easy".

thunk thunk thunk CRACK

Start with a bank of soft shale or clay. Use heavy equipment,  
such as loaders and bulldozers, to break it up. For hard shale, use explosives to break it up.

thunk thunk thunk CRACK

Use conveyor belts or trucks to move the material to two different sets of crushers, type varying depending on the texture of the clay or shale. Break it down until it's no longer chunks with these crushers.

thunk thunk thunk CRACK

Then, extrude the clay onto another conveyor, use a wire (much like a cheese cutter) to cut it into a rectangle, and perforate it to help speed the drying process.

thunk thunk thunk CRACK

After all of this, send these rectangular hunks of clay and shale through a kiln on a trolley car to remove the remaining moisture.  
Then, load them onto a different trolley car and send them through a baking kiln, heating them to between 1000 and 1200 degrees Celsius.

thunk thunk thunk CRACK

After this, unload the trolley, stack the newly made bricks into packs of three or four layers of 50 to 60 bricks apiece (called a 'leaf'), then stack on a pallet. Load this pallet into a delivery truck. Drive this delivery truck to a small dojo located in a prefecture of Tokyo named Nerima. 

thunk thunk thunk CRACK

And do this entire process again in a week, after Akane Tendo has utterly destroyed each and every brick on that pallet, three at a time.

thunk thunk thunk CRACK

Akane wasn't taking Ranma's continued absence well. And was taking that fact out the best way she knew how to: practice. Which was mostly comprised of destroying an astonishingly large amount of bricks on a daily basis. And, about every hour to 45 minutes, stalking upstairs to inquire as to Nabiki's progress on locating her wayward fiance.

thunk thunk thunk CRACK

Nabiki, for her part, was about two seconds from seeing if breaking one of those bricks over Akane's head would get her younger sister out of her hair for a while. The constant interruptions were not helping her find out what the heck was going on in the least bit. Ranma had vanished. Her source in Tomobiki was utterly gone...and had apparently never existed, from what she hearing.

"Ukyo, are you sure? No, I'm not saying you're an idiot.  
Yes, I'm sure you'd do your best. Yes, I know you want to find him.  
I just wanted to be sure. Nothing, then. Checked the school records?  
Asked around? Figures. Okay, I'll do more fact finding and let you know. And do me a favor and don't get in a fight with Shampoo. If you two put each other into the hospital... Yeah, yeah. I know. Later."

Nabiki carefully set the phone back in the cradle, then laced her fingers together and slowly rested her hands on her desk. She took a long, slow breath...and said several words that would have made her elder sister turn a most remarkable shade of red. This was past the money Cologne had slipped her. This was personal, now. Ranma was making a fool of her. No one did that to her. She was going to find him or die trying.

They waited. Silent. Unmoving. Emotionless. There may have only been a handful. There may have been too many to count. Really,  
it didn't matter. If they proved to be too few, more would be made.

And they waited. Patiently. For the one to whom they owed their very being to speak. To command. To give the meager existence they now possessed a purpose. 

Their patience was infinite, for they had no concept of disobedience. After all, how could you disobey when that ability had been deliberately left out at creation? All they knew was to obey,  
utterly and completely.

They were many and they were one. They were different and the same. And they all waited, endlessly. Crouching and standing and creeping and slithering by forms that were given to them by their maker's whims.

Until, finally, they were rewarded by the snapping of fingers and the voice they all knew as their maker's.

"Go. Harry and harass. Wear them down for me. Leave them weak. Vulnerable. Ready for me to pluck their meager, fragile lives from them. Go, my creations. Go, and please me."

The silence was unbroken. The darkness was still. Despite that, their joy and satisfaction radiated at the chance to serve. To destroy. To kill. All for their maker and master.

Dark eyes watched as the room slowly emptied, in duos and trios and groups. Twisted, misshapen forms each finding their own ways out to fulfill the commands they'd been given. Harsh lips quirked just a bit as their bearer turned and walked away, leaving behind only the harsh, rough sound of cruel laughter.

"So, we havin' fun yet?" Nemesis' voice was harsh and sarcastic,  
a rough croak of sheer exhaustion. He sank into a sitting position on the raised edge of the rooftop the Senshi were currently perched on. Well, perched would perhaps be too generous a term. With the sole exception of Pluto, who was leaning heavily on the Time Staff, all the Senshi were slumped on the building's dirty roof, in one way or the other. Saturn was currently laying across the laps of Neptune and Uranus, snoring solidly and drooling on the short-haired Senshi's thigh. Uranus was blearily blinking at Saturn, one arm thrown around Neptune. Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon were curled inside his cape, and it was a measure of Moon's weariness that she couldn't even work up enough energy to whine about how tired she was. The rest of the Senshi were faring no better. 

It had been a very rough few weeks. And that was putting it very,  
very mildly. It wasn't that the youma they were fighting were that tough. They weren't. And it wasn't that they always showed up in pairs, at the very least, either. No. It was that they showed up a LOT. Irregularly. Frequently. All over the place. The absolute longest break in the attacks to date was a depressing eight hours.  
And that was right before the most recent series of incidents.  
Which had been running for a solid day and a half, now. And had utterly drained the Senshi. Tactics, shift rotation, pacing themselves, all had fallen to the side in the continual assaults,  
until all that existed was the next set of monsters. And the next.  
And the next. 

And now, bruised, battered, and bone-weary, they waited. For the next attack. For a sign of the next attack. For a sign they could finally sleep. For...anything. 

With a loud groan, Nemesis slowly rose to his feet, joints sounding like a machine gun as he gradually stretched the stiffness out of them. "That's it. That. Is. It. Mercury...find us a hotel. I don't care how expensive, I don't care how cheap. Just find us a place we can pass out." His face was slack with weariness as he announced. "If something shows up before we finish sleeping.  
Someone else will have to handle it. We have to rest."

The absolute lack of protest at his words amply demonstrated the Senshi's utter lack of anything resembling energy at this point.  
The Senshi slowly levered, stumbled, or staggered to their feet, trooping gradually towards the easiest egress from the roof: the fire escape. Halfway there, Moon stumbled on a stray moonbeam and just barely managed to catch herself with a staggering half step, frowning a bit as a fly buzzed past her and tugged at her hair. Behind her, a loud crack sounded, followed by a strangled grunt/exclamation from Jupiter. 

Brow wrinkling in a frown, the leader of the Senshi turned herself towards the brunette, mouth opening in a question that was never asked,  
as her eyes fell upon the tall girl, slumped into the arms of Venus,  
a growing crimson stain spreading across her chest from the shattered remains of the jewel the used to adorn her bow. She started to take a step towards her friend...and was hit by a black and silver Mack truck that swiftly bore her across the roof, over the street, through the window of the building next door, and behind a large, solid-looking desk, glove-clad hands shoving her on top of Tuxedo Mask...who she hadn't even seen thrown over Nemesis' other shoulder.

Sailor Moon wheezed and curled around her abused stomach on top of her One, True Love, doing her best to remember how to breathe as she dimly registered Nemesis' voice above her, carrying on a shouted conversation in an incredibly rage-filled tone.

"Drop that son of a bitch NOW! No! I don't care! Take the whole block, just get rid of him!"

Coughing softly, Moon started to get to her feet...and was rudely shoved back under the desk with a growled command, dimly registering Tuxedo Mask's "oof!" as she landed on his stomach.

"Stay down, my Queen. There might be more than just that one."

"More than one WHAT?" She demanded, still more than a little confused as the distinct sound of a Silence Glaive Surprise drifted in from outside. Nemesis paused for a second, cocking his head to listen to a faint yell from a surprisingly distant rooftop, nodding as he slowly sank down to his heels.

"Snipers. Or didn't you notice that someone was trying to shoot you?" Nemesis' voice was hard, eyes flat as he murmured softly, fingers pressed to the dark jewel closing the collar of his shirt.  
"Okay, Jupiter's probably going to be all right. Uniform took most of the impact."

"S-sniper? Bu-but...THAT'S NOT HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK!" Moon indignantly declared, starting to move out from under the desk again...and easily being pushed right back by Nemesis. She blinked as a tuxedoed arm slipped around her waist, holding her in place this time.

"Obviously, they changed the rules on us. Now, stay there, blast it!" Nemesis grumbled again, fingers gently starting to glide over Moon's form. "And I'm just making sure you're not hurt, so don't get any weird ideas about tryin' ta marry me or attackin' me for your honor or nothin'. Got enough of that already."

"M-marry you? I'm not going to marry you, I'm going to marry Mamo-chan! I..." Her voice trailed off, then asked in a low, far too calm voice, "Nemesis? What does 'This side towards enemy.' mean?"

"What the hell do you mean, 'This side towards'..." Nemesis'  
voice trailed to nothingness as well, his eyes following Moon's shakily pointing finger to the pair of small green boxes taped to the underside of the tipped-over chair that used to be in front of the desk they were under...and the well-concealed mates that dotted the walls, ceiling,  
floors, and furniture of the room. Succinctly, he summed things up.

"Well...shit."

A half mile away, a pair of grease-painted lips tightened in a smirk as three stories of an office building vanished in a roiling ball of flame and wreckage at the press of a button. The small black detonator was casually tossed to the ground as the man holding it strode easily across the rooftop to stand over the bound form of a man in a battered centurion's uniform.

"See, and THAT is the value of advanced planning." The man's lips twisted in a sneer as he pulled a pistol out of its holster. "By the way, the boss-man gave me a message for you. And I quote: 'Augstyn,  
who served under Maximus Decimus Meridius in the Felix Legions during the northern wars... You're fired.' I'm in charge now, buddy boy.  
The rest of them won't last a week."

The man's lips finally curved into a smile as he pulled the pistol's trigger, laughter ringing through the air with the echo of the shot.

Setsuna calmly set her teacup down on the saucer, reaching out to retrieve a cookie from the plate nearby as she firmly declared to the assembled Senshi.

"I said: 'No, we will NOT panic and call Usagi's mother"  
Her teeth delicately nipped a piece of cookie free, using the excuse of chewing to ignore the rather...heated stares from the Senshi ringing her. "And, before you ask, no. I did not have anything to do with the family emergency that called her away yesterday."

Her hand shot out, one finger firmly cementing itself over Makoto's lips as she softly commented, eyes not meeting the taller girl's. "And before you scream at me, since I'm sure you want to, allow me to explain why I'm sitting here calmly when our Princess,  
her Prince, and Nemesis vanished earlier today in a rather large fireball."

She paused, eyes slipping around to meet each of the other girl's eyes and holding them for a brief time as she clearly and slowly enunciated.

"We didn't find bodies. And if you'd think, you'd realize you'd have felt it if the Princess had died. And I know for a fact that Nemesis is still alive. Know this: Arin was a fairly nice guy.  
Nemesis was anything but. He was a triple-dyed, iron-clad, psychotic son of a bitch who's only concern in the world was the continued survival and happiness of the Queen and Princess." Setsuna's eyes went flat as her voice hardened, staying low and almost scarily calm. "And since he is still alive, I can not and will not even entertain  
the thought that my Queen is dead. And neither will you." Her voice hardened to steel as she hissed. "Do. You. Understand. Me."

Silently, each of the girls nodded, held captive by the iron resolve behind Setsuna's eyes. She jerked her head in a quick acceptance, then spoke in a low, flat tone. "I don't know how. I don't care how. But I will wait here until Rei finishes her fire reading. And if she can't get anything out of the fire, I will wait here until Michiru gets something out of the mirror. And if that doesn't work, I will go find a goat and knife and use some old school methods I learned in Jamaica. And Ami, don't ask. Trust me."

Whatever Ami was going to ask anyways was cut off by the sound of the door opening, letting in a thoroughly exhausted Rei, who sank onto a pillow with a soft groan, cradling her head in her hands weakly.  
The rest of the occupants of the room rushed over to circle her, much like sharks around something thrashing weakly and bleeding freely.  
Rei eyed the rest of her team mates and tried to banish that mental image from her tired brain as she decided to head off the questions she could see on the tips of their tongues.

"They're alive...somewhere. At least Usagi and Mamoru are. I don't know about Nemesis, I don't know where they are, or how, or in what condition, but... I could feel their love still. It's like a silver beacon glowing faintly on a far away hill. They're alive"  
Rei slowly slumped on her cushion, fingers massaging her temples slowly as she tried to ease away the tension headache clamped around her brain.

Setsuna nodded slowly and gracefully rose to her feet, fingers adjusting her skirt and jacket with the ease of long habit. "Good.  
Now, we need to get some sleep. We're all still completely exhausted and I, for one, would really, really like to pass out somewhere comfortable, instead of on a hard, wooden floor. Rei, could we impose upon your hospitality and borrow your floor and a few futons?"

There are sounds that aren't heard so much as felt, deep down in the depths of the brain, where the really primitive bits are, just waiting for something to poke them, so they can remind you that sometimes, instincts ARE the best way to do things. Sounds like thunder, sonic booms, and Usagi whining for that last piece of chocolate cake all apply to this concept.

The Senshi were re-introduced to this class of noise via the way most people are: They were woken up from a very sound sleep by it,  
resulting in humorous antics for all. And swearing from Haruka, Rei,  
and (surprisingly) Michiru. Though Michiru should be excused, as her swearing was caused by Haruka jerking awake and elbowing her sharply in sensitive places.

As the mostly sleep-hazed girls attempted to figure out what the heck was going on, the more aware of the group, specifically Setsuna, scrambled for the door, dressed either in borrowed nightshirts from Rei or, in the case of those who wouldn't fit into Rei's pajamas (Makoto), their underwear. The few girls who weren't snapped fully awake by the body-numbing sound had what little sleepiness remained banished by the unmistakable noises of splintering wood and falling trees.

Their state of dress, or lack thereof, didn't even flit through the girl's minds as hands gripped henshin wands with well-practiced movements as they swiftly moved towards the source of the noise, a stand of trees near the back of the shrine...a stand of trees that used to be substantially larger, in fact. 

"What the hell happened to my trees?" Rei's enraged shout was almost simultaneous with the sound of her transformation into a fighting mad Sailor Mars, her enhanced Senshi speed and strength sending her flashing past Setsuna in a blur of red and white. The viridian-haired Senshi held out a hand, waving it a bit to signal the others to follow the miko's lead. She carefully picked her way through the remains of the trees, boots sounding loud as they landed on the splintered remnants of multiple trees.

Silently, she edged her way around a tree, blinking as she caught sight of Mars' distinctive fuku, kneeling down next a blasted,  
empty circle of dirt. At least she thought it was empty until Mars shifted to glance behind her...and revealed the white and black clad forms laying there, one blonde-capped head cradled in her arms. The next several seconds seemed to blur for Pluto, ending with her in a crouch by Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, both clad in the formal clothing of their past lives, their hands entwined tightly. 

"What happened here?" Mars hissed softly, eyes scanning the area for clues swiftly.

Pluto's lips quirked a bit as she slowly straightened out of her crouch, leaning the Time Staff against her shoulder lightly as she calmly responded. "I told you Nemesis was still alive. This is the usual aftermath of one of his teleports." Her eyes scanned the destroyed bits and pieces of wood with a light snort. "He never was very good at the whole 'teleport without incidence' thing."

"Uh...right." Jupiter confusedly commented, intently watching Mercury scan the unconscious couple with her Computer. "So where's Nemesis, then?"

In answer to her question, a thunderclap sounded deeper into the woods, followed almost simultaneously by the noise of splintering and destroyed trees, the meaty thud of a body hitting hard dirt, and a rather long string of expletives bellowed in a very angry voice. A few seconds later, Nemesis strode into the clearing, covered in splintered wood and debris. The black and silver clad Senshi was not a pretty sight. One eye was swelled nearly shut, while the ripped and ragged remnants of his uniform made the bruised and bleeding flesh underneath it easily visible. The creak of his fingers tightening inside his gloves into fists was clearly audible as he growled out through swollen and split lips, "Did we win?"

"Well... We're all still alive and in somewhat decent health?" Uranus volunteered hesitantly.

Nemesis considered the Outer Senshi's words for a moment,  
then nodded in a short, sharp jerk. "Close enough, I guess. Night."

"'Night'?" Neptune asked curiously, only to have any other words rendered pointless as Nemesis' eyes rolled up in their sockets and he dropped like a tree, slamming into the ground face-first without even a twitch. Her wince was echoed by the rest of the Senshi as Uranus carefully moved over by the passed-out man...and nudged him with a toe experimentally a few times.

"Seems he never did pick up the whole 'don't faint after teleporting' thing, either." Uranus sardonically drawled, with every indication of enjoyment, before she leaned down and gathered Nemesis into her arms with surprising carefulness, easily handling the dead weight. She turned...and stopped short as Pluto silently plucked her burden out of her arms, holding him carefully against her.

"I'll take care of him." Pluto narrowed her eyes in warning at Uranus as the taller girl opened her mouth with a twinkle in her eyes. "Don't even say it. Or I will take great enjoyment in introducing you to whole new universes of suffering." Her voice was light, airy, and so very, very serious that Uranus couldn't restrain her shudder. So she wisely kept her mouth shut, instead turning to help Jupiter carry Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask to a pair of empty futons in the temple.

Ranma muttered softly and flipped a page in his manga irritably. From way too many youma to none at all. Nothing for two weeks. Good for relaxing...bad for adrenaline junkies. Besides,  
he was running out of manga to read. He turned over on his bed and grumbled under his breath. It felt like someone was trying to lure them into letting down their guard.

knock 

Ranma blinked up from his manga and flicked a glance at the door curiously at the rather hesitant-sounding knock. Bending over the tip of one page to mark his place, he sat up from his bed and called out.

"C'mon in, Ami. I'm decent, I s'ppose."

Slowly, hesitantly, the blue-haired, heavily flushed, schoolgirl opened the door and stepped inside, briefly letting in the noises of Setsuna's current history lesson from downstairs before nervously closing the door behind her. Amusedly, the martial artist slash magical defender of justice (He'd be damned if he EVER declared he was fighting for love. He was a guy and had a reputation to uphold,  
after all.) noted how she stayed right by the door, as if she was prepared to flee to safety at a moment's notice.

"What's up?" He casually inquired, leaning back against the wall behind his bed, fingers laced behind his head. He attempted not to laugh as Ami proceeded to look anywhere but at him, fingers knotting nervously together. At least, they were knotting whenever they weren't plucking at her clothing or adjusting the minimalist,  
understated bits of jewelry she was wearing. His eyebrow quirked a bit at the jewelry, cataloging it through hard-won experience as his girl-side. Hmm. Haven't seen her wearing much of that, really. Makeup's new, too. Nicely done, though. 

"Well, you see...that is...I...you know...when I'm...dreams...was I..." Ami's face turned, if possible, an even brighter shade of red as she mumbled something quickly and more or less incoherently under her breath in a rush.

Ranma blinked. "Err...Ami? Did you just ask me if you're a lesb-"

"WAS! NOT IS! WAS!" Ami yelled, then paled and squeaked before resuming her utterly mortified expression for a few seconds,  
then suddenly turning to the door in a quick, panicked movement,  
fingers grabbing for the doorknob.

"NevermindIneedtogostudywitheveryoneelse!"

Ranma's hand flashed over Ami's head, slapping the door closed and holding it there with the solid immovability of a mountain.  
Or a martial artist very, very skilled in using his ki to boost his own strength. Roughly the same thing, anyways. His voice was soft and exceptionally polite as he lightly pushed Ami towards the best seat in the room: the bed.

"Why don't you sit down." For all the politeness, it had the steely undertone of a command that was meant to be obeyed, the tone that she normally only heard in the midst of a battle. Silently,  
she sank onto the bed, hands clasped between her knees with her eyes locked onto them. Her eyes stayed firmly on her fidgeting thumbs as Ranma grabbed a chair and swung it around in front of the bed, straddling it and crossing his arms along the back.

"So, I'd be guessing you had some sort of dreams, then?" His voice was light as he laced his fingers and rested his chin on them.  
Silently, Ami's head jerked in a quick, jerky nod. Ranma restrained a snicker and shook his head a bit.

"And the dream was about..." His voice trailed off expectantly, with an obvious waiting undertone.

Ami made a strangled noise and did her best to compact herself into an invisible ball of embarrassment on the bed, her fingers clutching tightly at her skirt, silently shaking her head. Ranma rolled his eyes a bit.

"Lemme guess. Brunette, tall, extremely...curvy,  
and very, very naked." Ranma's voice was droll...as his arm flashed out to catch the now-fleeing girl and guide her back to the bed, instead of to the door, where her attempt to spring up and flee was heading. "Ah-ah. No running today. We go jogging tomorrow"  
He gently pushed Ami back onto the bed. "Though I appreciate your enthusiasm for exercise."

Ami whimpered faintly and huddled on the bed, doing her best to wish herself out of existence through sheer force of will. Or maybe to ignite the blanket with the heat from her face and end the horror that way.

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Look, here's the thing. I'm wondering why you bothered to come to me, rather than Setsuna. She IS the Senshi of Time, etc etc etc. So, unless you got a reason, I'm gonna go poke her and get her in here."

Ami sighed and slowly uncurled from her ball of embarrassment,  
still not looking at Ranma as she grumbled softly. "I did."

"Aaaahh... Gave you some sort of speech about how you should let it happen and then started to babble about the sanctity of the time stream, and how you shouldn't live in the past, and so on and so forth,  
I suppose?" Ranma wryly asked. Ami nodded silently, with a look on her face that expressed her opinions on THAT option clearly.

"Still doesn't explain why you came to me and not to, say, Michiru. You know, someone with a bit of...hands-on experience"  
Ranma said with a small grin, doing his best to put a suggestive lilt to his voice. Judging by how Ami's face became, if possible,  
even redder, he seemed to have succeeded.

Ami finally took a deep breath and swallowed shakily, biting her lower lip as she glanced up at Ranma. "I...just answer, please? Please?"

Ranma's smile melted off his face at the naked pleading in the normally reserved voice and slowly nodded, glancing at the clock on the wall as he pondered for a second.

"Let me see if I've got this figured out right. Basically,  
you want to know if you're the same as Iria was. Yeah?" He waited and got the nod he was expecting, then calmly continued. "Well, from what I can see... Only in the ways that matter. Which, I point out,  
does NOT include who you find sexually attractive."

"Wha-?" Ami's startled question was cut off by a harsh jerk of Ranma's hand as he quickly stood, restlessly pacing about the room as he continued.

"Look, I ain't exactly the most...elegant speaker, ya know? Got a bit better since I got my memories back, but I'm still pretty rough.  
So this ain't gonna be all polished and stuff. But that don't make it any less true." He paused briefly, glancing at her to make sure she was getting his drift before speaking again. "Who you ARE, not who you were, is the important thing. You ain't Iria. You ain't the Ice Queen of Mercury. And, dammit, you shouldn't expect yourself to be! You're two totally different people, god dammit! All of you are!" He whirled and almost glared at the occupant of his bed, nearly snarling as he emphatically stated, "Iria was, in fact, so very gay. And, before you even ask, yes. She was obviously, deeply, awe-inspiringly in love with the Senshi of Jupiter. But you...YOU..." His finger jerked out in a quick, savage gesture. "YOU are whatever YOU decide to be. Straight or not. Caring or not. You decide. Who to love,  
how to live, what to do with your life. No one else. And that especially means someone who's been dead for so long recorded history can't even remember her existing."

Slowly, Ranma sank back into his chair, scrubbing his face with one hand weakly as he sighed softly. "For what it's worth, you're a lot like her. In the important ways. You care about your friends.  
You're dedicated to those you care about. Fiercely focused. You don't give up on the ones you love." He met her eyes and held them for a long, silent moment before speaking in a near whisper. "Those are the important things. Don't let the ghost of who you once were interfere with who you can be, Ami. Don't let the past rule your future."

Silently, the blue-haired Senshi nodded, hesitantly standing from the bed and giving Ranma a deep bow before silently exiting the room, gently closing the door behind her. He watched the door for a few moments...and then smiled a bit as he went back to reading his manga, very pointedly ignoring the figure in black and silver who smirked at him as he passed the mirror.

Outside the door, Ami stood in the hallway for a few long moments,  
distantly listening to Setsuna finishing up whatever lecture she was on currently, mulling over what Ranma had said. One hand slowly stroked the wood of the door as she pondered. Ranma seemed awfully worked up for a question that had just been sprung upon him.

"I wonder if that was to convince me? Or to convince himself"  
She mused to herself, turning away from the door and moving to rejoin her friends.

"Argh. Photons. Too loud." Haruka grumbled out around a huge yawn, stumbling into the kitchen and staggering towards the coffee maker, grabbing a mug as she passed the dish drainer.

Ami sipped at a cup of tea politely, tapping at the keyboard of the Computer. "You know, it is almost noon. Why in the world are you still yawning?"

Haruka took a long pull from her cup, grinning widely as she re-filled the almost-empty mug. She reached over and easily poured another cup full of hot water from the waiting heater, flipping a tea bag into it with the ease of long practice. "Late night."

"What are you talking about? We stayed over last night and you went to bed before I did. You and Michi-oh." Ami buried her flaming-red face in the screen of the Computer intently. Haruka lifted an eyebrow and snickered softly into her coffee, slipping out of the kitchen with the cup of tea with a smirk. Behind her, the tapping of Ami's typing slowly faded...and then was broken by an extremely annoying, all too familiar beeping.

Haruka's teeth ground together as Ami dashed out of the kitchen,  
scurrying into the front room to wake up the rest of the Senshi. Well,  
there went perfect plans to laze in bed for the rest of the day. Bah.

Shortly, the group had been gathered about the table in the kitchen, blearily waking themselves up with a quick meal while Ami worked on narrowing down the youma signal. Idly, Haruka tried to figure out just how Ranma was eating all that food. He never seemed to shove food in, but...it was vanishing from his plate faster than he was eating it. Weird.

"Ah!" Ami's pleased exclamation resulted in everyone's attention snapping to her in a heartbeat, Ranma even pausing for a second before finishing off the last of his breakfast.

"Got it?" Haruka drawled, cracking the knuckles of one hand idly,  
beginning to feel the familiar tingle of anticipation that always got her before a fight against the forces of evil. Or a fight period,  
for that matter.

"Yes! It's in Tokyo. Not a big surprise there, they always seem to appear in Tokyo. A bit weird, that. Anyways, I've only been able to narrow it down to a fairly wide area. We'll need to get closer for me to get a precise lock." Ami tapped at her Computer a bit more,  
then nodded and closed it, slipping it into her pocket and pulling out her henshin wand. "Shall we?"

"You kinda forgot to tell us where we're going, Ami dear." Haruka politely reminded, a teasing note to her voice as she twirled her henshin pen between her fingers, straightening from her leaning position against the counter.

"Oh." Ami blushed a bit and straightened her shirt a bit. "Sorry. It's likely somewhere in Nerima prefecture, so-"

SPOOT "NE-caffcaff-RIMA?caff"

"-GAH! RANMA!" Ami yelped, springing away from the coughing boy as she batted at her shirt, trying to get the orange juice out of the now-soaked material helplessly.

Ranma managed to bring the fit of coughing under control and slowly rose from his seat, one eyelid twitching a bit. "You know, it just figures. I swear ta Serenity, one day I'm gonna find the bastard gods who like screwin' with my life and then...oh, then..." His finger jerked out quickly, flicking at the Inner Senshi. "Right.  
You're staying here, just in case this is a trap or a feint or something. I'll take the Outers, 'port over there, and deal with this."

"What happens if you guys can't handle it by yourself, though"  
Rei inquired semi-sarcastically.

Ranma grinned a bit. "That's why you guys're stayin' together.  
So you can teleport in and do that thing you do so well."

"Kick youma butt!" Makoto proclaimed loudly, holding up a clenched fist as a wild grin bloomed on her face.

"Make speeches to distract them while we kick their butt." Haruka sing-songed sotto voce to Michiru. The aqua-haired Senshi just barely managed to keep her giggle in and elbowed the taller girl with a whispered command to be good. Haruka just grinned in response.

Ranma rolled his eyes and strolled out of the room, moving towards the back yard calmly. By the time his feet hit the grass of the yard,  
he was in the black and silver of Nemesis, feeling the familiar tug of his power, the call to his duty, the chain that was his weapon of choice wrapping itself around his left arm and wrist with a metallic,  
joyful slither. His eyes closed for a moment and he took a deep breath, head jerking to shake loose the ghost of old memories flitting through his mind. His eyebrows furrowed as his eyes glanced at the position of the sun in the sky, then fell upon a hose attached to the faucet in the yard.

The Outer Senshi came through the door just in time to see a thoroughly female Nemesis give a full body shake to shed the excess water from her skin and clothing, one hand shutting off the hose as she did. She shrugged as she moved towards them, idly commenting.

"Had to see if I was lucky enough to get the cursed locked while transformed. I ain't. At least people won't recognize me. You guys know how to follow a teleport lead, at least?" She paused long enough to get nods of confirmation from the Outers, then grinned. "Right.  
Pluto will lead you in." She nodded at the viridian-haired Senshi. "You can guess where I'm going. Most of the well-known insanity was centered there, after all. See you there."

Pluto turned to the Outers with a calm face as Nemesis disappeared into a shadow, almost perfectly masking the mischief in her eyes as she instructed. "Just follow me in. It'll be a school roof, so don't make yourselves too obvious, all right?"

Nemesis yawned and reclined in the shadow on Furinkan's roof, nonchalantly waiting for Neptune to finish her scrying. 

"Nemesis. I believe I've found him." Neptune's voice was calm as she called to the relaxed Senshi. "And he's a weird one, too."

Nemesis quirked an eyebrow and moved over to peer over the aqua-haired Senshi's shoulder, eying the Mirror for a few long seconds before snorting and shaking her head. "That's Taro. He ain't a youma.  
Just cursed."

"What kind of curse does THAT?" Uranus demanded incredulously,  
flicking a finger at the figure in the mirror.

"Spring of drowned yeti riding bull and carrying eel and crane.  
He added the octopus tentacles later." Nemesis said matter-of-factly,  
then added. "I can take 'im."

Uranus opened her mouth, paused, then slowly blinked.

"...you're serious, aren't you. Jeez. No wonder you don't blink at the ridiculous crap we get." The short-haired Senshi's voice was slightly dazed as she spent a few more seconds staring at the surreal vision in the mirror. "How the heck did you beat that thing?"

Nemesis grinned and crossed her arms over her chest as she stated with absolute confidence. "I'm the best."

Pluto cocked an eyebrow and opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Neptune clearing her throat and wordlessly pointing at her mirror again. Nemesis glanced quickly.

"Akari's pet sumo pig. Katsu-somethingorother.  
Try again."

Wordlessly, Uranus mouthed "pet sumo pig" at Pluto, who's only response was a silent shrug and shake of the head. The blonde Senshi lifted a hand to slowly massaged the bridge of her nose and mentally revised her opinion of her (sometimes) male compatriot. Judging from a few of the stories he'd (She'd? Whatever. She'd think of him as a "he", easier for her to keep from going totally crazy, then. And to keep from noticing how she filled out the scanty uniform she was wearing now, what with the straps and chains and skin and bouncy,  
perky-NO! Bad Haruka! That way lies sleeping on the couch!) shared,  
coupled with the history received from Pluto, added to this trip.  
No wonder he had a few..."quirks". She eyed the black and silver-clad Senshi as he shook his head at Neptune again. Strike that. It's a wonder he wasn't totally gibbering crazy. Her train of thought was derailed by an outburst from the target of her contemplation giving a shudder and a quick, almost frantic, head shake.

"Oh, hell no. I mean, I'd almost think he IS some sorta demon,  
but he's been around for a while."

"Well, maybe we should investigate, then? After all, you keep telling use to listen to our instincts during practice." Pluto suggested, shifting her stance to prepare for a teleport. Nemesis shuddered mightily. Uranus twitched and started to mumble something about couches under her breath. Nemesis shot her a weird look before eying Pluto again.

"Look, ya don't want to go near the old coot. Trust me. Just...trust me." 

Pluto cocked an eyebrow in the totally irritating manner that Uranus swore, SWORE, she had to practice and replied easily. "Oh, how bad could it be?"

"'How bad-'!" Nemesis gaped for a few seconds, then slowly grinned at the Senshi of Time. "So... You wearing panties under that skirt?"

"WHAT? You! Why! Wha-" Pluto floundered for a few seconds before her power of speech totally abandoned her, leaving her gaping at her interrogator...much like a fish out of water, Uranus had to note. She also noted that she needed to buy a good camera and always remember it, just for moments like this...just as soon as she figured out how to get her jaw off her boots.

Nemesis stabbed a finger at the mirror, now being held loosely in the shock-slackened hands of Neptune, who was doing her best fish impression as well. In the mirror, a stubby figure guzzled some sake and cackled as he continued ironing something pink and wispy.

"Because if you go within eye shot of THAT perv, you won't be any more! Get me? Or anything else that might be lacy, frilly, or delicate! It's his thing, and he's damn good at it. And he's easily a match for me, ta boot! You want to make this a nice, quiet job? Then we stay the hell away from that lech!" Nemesis pursed her lips and just looked at the other Senshi for a moment before nodding and adding in a mumble. "Besides, I don't wanna get within a mile of him lookin' like this. Gah."

After a trio of shared glances, the other girls silently decided to just agree with the currently-female Senshi...and follow up on this later, when they were alone. Didn't pay to leave unknowns, after all.

"What about this one? It's pretty much the only other weird thing I can find around here. We might need to move to a different area and start again." Neptune said in a resigned voice, tilting the mirror towards Nemesis. "Whatever it is, it looks very drunk."

Nemesis blinked and peered at the mirror intently. "Drunk? What the hell..." Her voice trailed off as she stared into the clear surface of the mirror. "That's not a youma."

"Well, isn't that just perfect. Should have brought Mercury"  
Uranus groused softly, kicking at a bit of litter on the rooftop in frustration. However, any further comments were stilled by Nemesis'  
next words.

"It's a full-blown demon." Slowly, leather-cased fists curled into tight balls of anger. "A true, summoned demon. Who's drunk"  
The rage underlining her voice darkened as she hissed. "You three deal with it. I have an idea who called it. I'll deal with HIM."

Uranus nodded and drew the Space Sword easily, eying the blade from long habit. "How do you know who summoned it?"

A snort sounded loud in the air as Nemesis moved towards a pool of shadows. "You have to be pretty damn useless at it to summon up a demon DRUNK. No summoner worth anything would screw up that badly"  
Her lips curled in what could almost be called a smile, if it had only shown half as many teeth. "I only know one person who fits the bill in Nerima."

Uranus sighed softly and watched the demon bounce off another wall and stagger into the street. If it wasn't drunk as a skunk, the so-called fight between it and the three Senshi would be just about even. But in its condition, it was about thirty more minutes of steady, boring pounding from being reduced to nothing.

She skipped off her perch in a tree and landed a ways behind the creature, carefully pegging it with a World Shaking before hopping to another perch. The three were taking turns, hitting it with attack after attack to weaken it up. No point in exhausting themselves for a weak threat, after all.

She glanced over as she caught movement in the corner of her eye,  
just in time to catch a lovely view of Neptune's thighs as the other Senshi landed next to her. A light elbow to her ribs made it clear that her ogling hadn't gone unnoticed, either.

"You know, I'm not sure who designed these stupid outfits, but sometimes I want to kiss 'im." Uranus' voice was decidedly lecherous as she waggled her eyebrows at her lover with a leer on her face. Neptune gave a tolerant sigh and repeated her earlier rib elbowing. 

"You be good." The dryness in Neptune's voice made it clear how likely she thought THAT option was. She tensed and quickly slipped down to the street to plant a quick Deep Submerge into the back of the demon, setting it up for Pluto. As she hopped back up beside her love,  
she rolled her eyes at the obviousness of the ogling that resulted.  
Calmly, she decided to just let her "better" half get it out of her system. "I wonder how Nemesis is doing?"

As if summoned by Neptune's comment, the Outer's communicators crackled to life, carrying the easily recognizable (and very pissed)  
voice of the aforementioned Senshi.

"Oi! Neptune, Uranus, you there?"

Neptune blinked and tapped a hand to her communicator easily,  
watching as Pluto started to harass the demon a bit, apparently deliberately trying to hit specific parts on it with her Dead Screams.

"We're here, Nemesis. Found your target?"

A soft growl rolled from the communicator, followed by the very definite sounds of grinding teeth as Nemesis spit out. 

"Yeah, I found the idiot. Listen, aim for the sake bottle. Idiot somehow managed to use that as the summoning focus. Blow it up, you ain't got no demon. Got it?"

"Got it. Though, I have to admit, I'm almost starting to have fun hitting this thing."

"Just destroy it and meet me at the teleport location, awright"  
Nemesis snorted softly as she flicked off the communicator,  
slowly turning to stab a finger at a very cowed Hikaru Gosunguki...who had a very impressive black eye starting to develop around one eye...and a vivid red palm print on the opposite cheek. "And you! If you ever try to summon something again, I'll come back here and break your damn knees, you got me?"

She paused just long enough to watch Gosunguki nod, then took a few slow, menacing steps closer, putting her face right into the pale boy's and hissing softly. "And next time you get the urge to stare at someone's breasts, just because they're in tight leather...don't.  
Just don't."

Gosunguki squeaked and slowly cowered back against the wall, trying to look away from the eyes of the girl, which were filled with iron-hard, ice-cold, blazing promises of much pain if he didn't agree.  
Stupid hormones. Stupid, stupid, STUPID hentai anime! Must throw it out. 

Nemesis gave the cringing figure in front of her the evil eye for a few more long, horrible seconds, then nodded and took three easy steps to the window and out, landing softly in the alley outside it and looking around to orient herself. Stupid Gos.

Now...to take care of something. Since she was in Nerima and all. The Tendo's house was only a hop, skip, and a jump away...literally.

"So, what'd you tell them?" Setsuna casually asked that evening, perching on the arm of the couch Ranma was sitting on while watching TV.

"Tell who what?" 

"Ranma." Her voice was firm. "Please, I'm not an idiot. You know who. We were in Nerima, you took a while getting back to us.  
The math isn't that hard to do, when you know the numbers."

Ranma sighed and leaned back against the couch, lacing his hands behind his neck. "I didn't tell 'them' anything. Akane and Nabiki both were gone. Apparently, the Principal finally managed to convince the school board that Hawaii was a reasonable place for a field trip."

"So, basically, you're saying you weaseled out." Setsuna's voice was disapproving as she shook her head. "You're going to have to tell them something eventually, you know."

"Why?" He snorted and lifted himself of the couch in a burst of movement. "None of YOU have told anyone jack! Hell, you guys have DIED and haven't bothered to fill people in on the truth!"

"Yes, that's true. But none of us have a fiance waiting for us, either." Her voice was calm as she stood, moving to stand in front of Ranma and catch his eyes with her own. "You need to tell her, at least. It's the right thing to do. What if the worst happens, Ranma?  
What if you're killed next time we fight? What then? Will you let her just wonder for the rest of her life what happened to you?"

"I..." Ranma sighed and scrubbed at his face with one hand.  
"Okay. I ain't gonna go to Hawaii and talk to her, though. Not with all those strangers around."

"Reasonable. However, you need to do something. Perhaps talking to Kasumi?"

Ranma laughed and shook his head. "No chance of talkin' to Kasumi. I learned a long time ago that I can't lie to her for shit."

"Then why not write a letter?" Setsuna nodded towards her open study door. "I'll even help you compose it. Something nice and reassuring, that lets her know you haven't just vanished into thin air for no reason."

"I...all right. A letter." Ranma shrugged and followed Setsuna into her study. She did have a point, really. If nothing else, he owed certain people some sort of explanation.

Among the most hated of all the management techniques is the "Hurry up and wait". There's nothing like rushing to an appointment,  
only to be told you'll have to wait, since the boss has pressing business to attend to.

Usually, the boss would put up some sort of lie, though. Not just sit right in front of you in his recliner reading a newspaper,  
while you stood at attention. 

Not that the man in camo fatigues seemed to mind. His back was straight enough that if you compared it to a laser level, the laser would come out wanting. Not a twitch passed his face at the continued slow rustling of the papers. Every so often, he would blink, but that was the extent of his movement...and had been for several hours.

Finally, the paper was cast aside, joining the pile of discarded news to the side of the chair. A hand reached down and flipped the recliner's lever, bringing its occupant back to a sitting position.

"So, I suppose you're wondering why I called you to see me. Am I correct, sir?" The chair's occupant had a gentle, cultured voice,  
which almost served to distract from the rows upon rows of sharp, jagged teeth his mouth contained.

The standing man, if possible, seemed to jerk himself even straighter as he declared. "Sir, I am not a 'sir', sir! 'Sir' is for officers, sir! I am a sergeant, sir! Sir, I work for a living,  
sir!"

Fingers drummed on the arm of the chair lightly, sharp, pointed fingernails leaving small scratches on the tough leather with each impact. "Ah, yes. How silly of me to forget. However, on the subject of work, it seems as though I no longer have quite as many employees as I once did."

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, sir!" The man kept his face carefully neutral as the armchair's occupant slowly stood, pulling a folder from thin air and reading from it as he, for lack of a better word, flowed around the room with a stride like an oil slick spreading across the surface of an arctic wildlife refuge.

"Dendrite appears to have eaten some sort of fish and suffered a bad reaction to it. Now, I've never heard of fugu before, but it seems poisonous." A piece of paper fluttered to the ground. "Arthur slipped off a subway platform just as the train was arriving. My, that's quite a mess." Another piece of paper joined the first. "Myan-myan appeared to have sunk into a deep depression while thinking about the cousins Sailor V killed and committed suicide. I can tell,  
because she left a nicely typed note that said so." A third paper slipped to the ground. "And William and Henry, despite seeming to loathe each other even more than I loathe those Senshi, were apparently carrying on a torrid secret love affair. Sadly, they appear to have died when their 'personal massager' somehow fell into the tub they were sharing." Two more pieces of paper fluttered to the floor, followed by quite a number of polaroids. "Quite an interesting position they were attempting at the time, I note. I seem to recall something of an intense hatred between you three. Of course, that surely is a coincidence."

There was a long, tense silence before the single remaining piece of paper was lifted from the folder and held in front of the standing man's face. "Which just leaves...you. Somehow, in under two weeks, all of my generals, except one, have had...accidents.  
I know they must be accidents, since I explicitly forbid any kind of in-fighting among them. Seems a bit strange, doesn't it?"

"Sir! An unexplainable series of tragedies, sir! I feel sorrow at the loss of each and every one of them, sir!"

"You know, sergeant, there are ways to end a sentence besides an exclamation point." The voice was dry as its bearer returned to his previous seat, dropping the folder to the side as he did. "Now.  
We both know I have no proof that those were anything but accidents.  
Otherwise, you'd already be screaming and begging me to kill you. I suppose I should have seen something like this coming, really. I do trust, however, that you will remember the reason I kept you from dying on that battlefield, yes? You have Senshi to kill and a very powerful magic weapon to acquire, sergeant. Get to it."

"Sir, yes, sir!" One arm flashed in a crisp salute that was held as the man slowly vanished, like a mirage on a hot day.

A sigh slowly echoed through the room, one hand waving absently at the scattered papers and folders, making them vanish. "And after I went through all that trouble to recruit those idiots, too. Ah, well. Saves me the trouble of having to remove them once I'd won, I suppose. Once the Senshi finish the job, I suppose I'll have to get involved."

A slow laugh sounded, rippling and building in the dark space.  
"Oh, and what fun we will have then..."

To be continued... 

Well, this only took...uh...way too long. Yeah.

Shaddup. At least I finished it, right?

Anyways. I'm sure the Ami/Ranma bit doesn't come off quite right, but... I like it anyways, so I'm keeping it in. That's because I'm stubborn!

This is mostly to let people know I'm still alive and working on things. 

Ja Ne!  
Slacker 


End file.
